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The evolution of fishes took place over a timeline which spans the Cambrian to the Cenozoic, including during that time in particular the Devonian, which has been dubbed the "age of fishes" for the many changes during that period. The Late Devonian extinctions played a crucial role in shaping the evolution of fish, or vertebrates in general. [1]
The evolution of fish began about 530 million years ago during the Cambrian explosion. It was during this time that the early chordates developed the skull and the vertebral column, leading to the first craniates and vertebrates. The first fish lineages belong to the Agnatha, or jawless fish. Early examples include Haikouichthys.
The timeline of the evolutionary history of life represents the current scientific theory outlining the major events during the development of life on planet Earth. Dates in this article are consensus estimates based on scientific evidence , mainly fossils .
Haikouichthys, from about in China, may be the earliest known fish. [1] [additional citation(s) needed] Prehistoric fish are early fish that are known only from fossil records. They are the earliest known vertebrates, and include the first and extinct fish that lived through the Cambrian to the Quaternary.
The first identifiable placoderms appear in the fossil record during the late Llandovery epoch of the early Silurian. [6] They eventually outcompeted the previously dominant marine arthropods (e.g. eurypterids ) and cephalopod molluscs (e.g. orthocones ), producing some of the first and most infamous vertebrate apex predators such as ...
c. 430 Ma – First appearance of Cooksonia, the oldest known plant to have a stem with vascular tissue and is thus a transitional form between the primitive non-vascular bryophytes and the vascular plants; c. 420 Ma – First creature took a breath of air. First ray-finned fish and land scorpions. c. 410 Ma – First toothed fish and nautiloids.
Fishermen supplied fish to inland communities, as remains of fish, including bones and scales, have been discovered at many inland sites. To preserve them for transport, the fish were first smoked or dried and salted. [6] Merchants also imported fish, sometimes from as far as from Egypt, where pickled roe was an export article. [8]
The evolution of the molluscs is the way in which the Mollusca, one of the largest groups of invertebrate animals, evolved. This phylum includes gastropods, bivalves, scaphopods, cephalopods, and several other groups. The fossil record of mollusks is relatively complete, and they are well represented in most fossil-bearing marine strata.