We focuse on elucidating major evolutionary transitions in animals integrating evidence from living and extinct organisms with a multidisciplinary approach.
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ALT Palaeoartist's reconstruction of Otodus megalodon. In the centre a huge shark breaches the surface of the water, with open mouth, surrounded by flying seabirds and smaller whales in the water. The cliffs of land can be seen in the background to the left. Artwork by Hugo Salais (https://metazoa.studio) reproduced here with kind permission.
ALT Top left: Photograph, V-shaped oral plate apparatus of Protopteraspis vogti (PMO A28720; Palaeontology Museum, Oslo) in aboral view. White arrows mark individual median and lateral oral plates. Scale bar, top left, is 2 mm. Top right: 3D surface model of Loricopteraspis dairydinglensis lateral oral plate (NHMUK PV P 43711; Natural History Museum) from Lower Devonian, Shropshire, UK). Arrow at top right indicates distal direction. Scale bar at bottom right is 1000 microns. The element is divided into two regions: the shaft on the left and a hook on the right. Area of the hook outlined in a white box is enlarged directly below showing denticles on the surface. Middle left: results of the finite element analysis of lateral oral plate NHMUK PV P 43711 showing minimum stress patterns with increasing maximum principal stress shown in darker colours and stress trajectories shown as white arrows. Lower left: Plot of bone volume fraction against minimum principal stress for NHMUK PV P 43711.
