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Developmental biology

Led by the nose

Nature volume 493, pages 169–170 (2013)Cite this article

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Hagfish embryos show developmental features that contradict the idea that these jawless fish are the most primitive living vertebrates. The findings also help to trace the evolution of vertebrate cranial structure. See Article p.175

Hagfish are bizarre creatures. These eel-shaped marine fish have a skull but no vertebrae, and teeth but no jaw. These and other odd features have long fascinated evolutionary biologists, who regard the 'primitive' characteristics of hagfish as a treasure trove of clues to understanding the early evolution of vertebrate anatomy and physiology. But hagfish embryos are reputedly scarce, so their development has remained an enigma. Six years ago, however, a team of Japanese researchers realized1 that hagfish embryos are not particularly rare: they simply take more time to mature than other piscine vertebrates. This discovery triggered extensive investigations of hagfish embryos, some of which are published by Oisi et al.2 on page 175 of this issueFootnote 1. The authors provide a spectacular overview of hagfish craniofacial development, with particular reference to the origins of the olfactory organs and pituitary gland, two key features in the shaping of the vertebrate skull3.

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Figure 1: Cranial anatomy of living and fossil vertebrates.

Notes

  1. *This article and the paper under discussion2 were published online on 19 December 2012.

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  1. Philippe Janvier is at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.,

    Philippe Janvier

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  1. Philippe Janvier
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Correspondence to Philippe Janvier.

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Janvier, P. Led by the nose. Nature 493, 169–170 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11766

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