The marine creature amphioxus allows scientists to explore some of the steps that took place as simple creatures evolved to become complex animals.
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Articles on Vertebrates
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New research shows shallow, near-land seas similar to Bass Strait were critical in the early days of fish evolution. These are the waters we need to protect now to ensure ongoing biodiversity.
A 400 million year old fossilised fish skull gives us very early and previously unknown clues about how boney fishes evolved into the vertebrates we see today on Earth - including us humans.
Little skates that 'walk' across the ocean floor show how fish brains evolved to pave the way for working legs.
A drying climate caused a mass extinction among plants, but paved the way for the ancestors of modern reptiles, mammals, and birds.
If one venomous snake bites a mouse and injects venom into it, you can then feed that same dead mouse to another snake. The second snake won't die.
Taking the placenta as a case study, researchers are able to piece together how new organs evolve, by repurposing old tissues and using them to do new jobs.
Top contributors
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John Long is a Friend of The Conversation.Strategic Professor in Palaeontology, Flinders University
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ARC DECRA Fellow, University of Melbourne
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Lab Head-Developmental Epigenomics and Senior Research Fellow, Garvan Institute
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Research Associate in the College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University
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Associate Professor, James Cook University
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PhD student, University of Birmingham
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Senior Lecturer in Vertebrate Biology, Liverpool John Moores University
