Abstract
Natural brain casts of Devonian heterostracans (Agnatha: Heterostraci) are compared for the first time with the brain of contemporary man. The similarity in telencephalon morphology is revealed; the olfactory brain part of both man and heterostracans contains the olfactory tracts and bulbs. Based on the similarity in the olfactory apparatus of adult heterostracans and gnathostomes (sharks) it is concluded that the developmental schemes of the hypophysis, which adjoins the diencephalon, are similar in these groups. In the evolution of vertebrates, Diplorhina (Agnatha having two nostrils) and jawed vertebrates (Gnathostomata) form a natural phylogenetic branch, in which Diplorhina and man are regarded as the lowest and most advanced morphological levels.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bjerring, H.C., Apertures of craniate olfactory organs, Acta Zool., 1989, vol. 70, no. 2, pp. 71–85.
Devillers, C., Le crane des poissons, in Traité de zoologie, Grassé, P., Ed., Paris, 1958, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 551–687.
Donoghue, P.C.J. and Smith, M.P., The anatomy of Turinia pagei (Powrie), and the phylogenetic status of the Thelodonti, Trans. Roy. Soc. Edinburg, Earth Sci., 2001, vol. 92, pp. 15–37.
Forey, P.L. and Janvier, P., Agnathans and the origin of jawed vertebrates, Nature, 1993, vol. 361, pp. 129–134.
Gagnier, P.-Y., The oldest vertebrate: A 470-million-year-old jawless fish Sacabambaspis janvieri, from the Ordovician of Bolivia, Nat. Geogr. Res., 1989, vol. 5, pp. 250–253.
Gorbman, A. and Tamarin, A., Pituitary development in cyclostomes compared to higher vertebrates, in Pars Distalis of the Pituitary Gland — Structure, Function and Regulation, Joshimura, F. and Gorbman, A., Eds., Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1986, pp. 3–14.
Janvier, P., The phylogeny of Craniata, with particular reference to the significance of fossil “agnathans”, J. Vertebr. Paleontol., 1981, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 121–159.
Karamyan, A.I., Evolyutsiya konechnogo mozga pozvonochnykh (Evolution of the Telencephalon of Vertebrates), Leningrad: Nauka, 1976.
Marinelli, W. and Strenger, A., Myxine glutinosa (L.), in Vergleichende Anatomie und Morphologie der Wirbeltiere, Wien, 1956, pp. 81–172.
Novitskaya, L.I., On the brain and cranial nerves of heterostracans (agnathans), Paleontol. Zh., 1974, no. 2, pp. 95–109.
Novitskaya, L.I., Sur la structure interne et les liens phylogénétiques des Hétérostraci, Coll. Int. CNRS, 1975, no. 218 (Problémes actuels de Paléontologie (Évolution des Vertébrés), pp. 31–40.
Novitskaya, L.I., The problem of the relationship between agnathan and gnathostome vertebrates, Acta Palaeontol. Polon., 1981, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 9–18.
Novitskaya, L.I., Morphology of Ancient Agnathans, Tr. Paleontol. Inst. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 1983, vol. 196, pp. 1–183.
Novitskaya, L.I., Definitive morphology of Palaeozoic agnathans (Heterostraci, Osteostraci) as information on their ontogenetic type and phylogenetic relationships, Mod. Geol., 1993, vol. 18, pp. 115–124.
Novitskaya, L.I., Adaptations for swimming in external morphology and skeleton of the most ancient vertebrates (Agnatha: Heterostraci), Paleontol. Zh., 2000, no. 6, pp. 13–23.
Novitskaya, L.I., On features of modern phylogenetic studies, using the origin of gnathostome vertebrates as an example, Paleontol. Zh., 2002, no. 6, pp. 3–14.
Novitskaya, L.I., Subclass Heterostraci, in Iskopaemye pozvonochnye Rossii i sopredel’nykh stran: Beschelyustnye i drevnie ryby (Fossil Vertebrates of Russia and Adjacent Countries: Agnathans and Ancient Fishes), Novitskaya, L.I. and Afanassieva, O.B., Eds., Moscow: GEOS, 2004, pp. 69–207.
Novitskaya, L.I., Agnathans, the most ancient vertebrates, predecessors of fishes, Ikhtiosf. Otech. Vod, 2010, vol. 9, pp. 4–29.
Novitskaya, L.I. and Karatayute-Talimaa, V.N., Remarks on cladistic analysis in connection with the hypothesis of the myopterygian and the problem of the origin of gnathostomes, in Morfologiya i evolyutsiya zhivotnykh (Morphology and Evolution of Animals), Moscow: Nauka, 1986, pp. 102–125.
Novitskaya, L.I. and Turner, S., Turinia pagei (Powrie): A new reconstruction of the soft organs of the cephalothorax, Mem. Queensl. Mus., 1998, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 533–544.
Saveliev, A.V., Sravnitel’naya anatomiya nervnoi sistemy pozvonochnykh (Comparative Anatomy of the Nervous System of Vertebrates), Moscow: GEOTAR-MED, 2001.
Schmalhausen, I.I., Osnovy sravnitel’no anatomii (Fundamentals of Comparative Anatomy), Moscow: Sovetskaya Nauka, 1947.
Stensö, E., Les Cyclostomes fossiles ou ostracodermes, in Traité de Paléontologie, Piveteau, J., Ed., Paris, 1964, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 96–385.
Vorobyeva, E.A., Gubar’, A.V., and Saf’yannikova, E.B., Anatomiya i fiziologiya (Anatomy and Physiology), Moscow: Meditsina, 1981.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Original Russian Text © L.I. Novitskaya, 2015, published in Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal, 2015, No. 1, pp. 75–85.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Novitskaya, L.I. Brain of the most ancient vertebrates (Agnatha: Heterostraci) and man: Comparison and inferences. Paleontol. J. 49, 79–88 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030115010086
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030115010086