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Articles on Vertebrates
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Scientists used to believe that a group containing starfish and sea urchin were the closest relatives of vertebrates like humans. But new research challenges this idea.
Since the 19th century, biologists have treated the larvae of lampreys as a relic of evolutionary ancestry that could potentially give clues about vertebrate origins. Now fossils overturn that view.
The three-toed skink can give birth to live young and lay eggs in the same pregnancy. What can this little critter teach us about the evolution of live birth?
The arrangement of bones in our specimen's fins are the same as those of 'fingers' in tetrapods. The only difference is the digits are locked within the fin, and not free moving.
Knowing an animal's normal lifespan is hugely important for conservation efforts, but it's harder to find out than you'd think.
The discovery of a perfectly preserved snake skull fossil answers many questions about the evolution of snakes from lizards.
The marine creature amphioxus allows scientists to explore some of the steps that took place as simple creatures evolved to become complex animals.
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, Macquarie University
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Research Associate in Evolutionary Biology, Flinders University
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Senior lecturer, University of Sydney
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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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Postdoctoral research associate, University of Birmingham
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Senior Lecturer in Vertebrate Biology, Liverpool John Moores University
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Palaeontologist, Albany Museum (supported by the Millennium Trust and the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences, the NRF and the NSCF), Rhodes University
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Professor of Evolutionary Biology, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR)
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Research Associate, African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University
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Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of Alberta
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Molecular biologist and bioinformatician, CSIRO
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Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Sydney
