We found the oldest ever vertebrate fossil heart. It tells a 380 million-year-old story of how our bodies evolved

Kate Trinasjtic, John Long

Research output: Contribution to specialist publicationArticle

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Abstract

In the limestone ranges of Western Australia’s Kimberley region, near the town of Fitzroy Crossing, you’ll find one of the world’s best-preserved ancient reef complexes.

Here lie the remnants of myriad prehistoric marine animals, including placoderms, a prehistoric class of fish that represents some of our earliest jawed ancestors.

Placoderms were the rulers of the ancient seas, rivers and lakes. They were the most abundant and diverse fishes of the Devonian Period (419–359 million years ago) – but died out at the end in a mass extinction event...
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages4
Specialist publicationThe Conversation
PublisherThe Conversation (Aust.)
Publication statusPublished - 16 Sept 2022

Keywords

  • placoderms
  • fossils
  • Fitzroy Crossing
  • Kimberley region

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