Episode 5.3 · 27 min

The Rise of Jawed Fishes

Changing Ordovician seas, mass extinction, and the fossil evidence for the rise of jawed fishes through the Silurian and Early Devonian.

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Visual credits

31 sources

Sources and credits for imagery used in this film, including material incorporated into explanatory animations.

Leptograptus fossil graptolites (Viola Formation, Ordovician; Murray County, Oklahoma, USA) (17391415055)
James St. John
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Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Brachiopods in limestone (Richmondian Stage, Upper Ordovician; Southgate Hill roadcut, Indiana, USA) 1
James St. John
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 2.0
Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Amplexopora filiasa (fossil bryozoan) (Upper Ordovician; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA)
James St. John
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 2.0
Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Iocrinus subcrassus, crinoid, Late Ordovician, McMillan Formation, Butler County, Ohio, USA - Houston Museum of Natural Science - DSC01499
Daderot
View original source ↗Source licence: CC0
Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Flexicalymene meeki (fossil trilobite) (Upper Ordovician; Cincinnati area, USA)
James St. John
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 2.0
Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Endoceras spp Svezia Museo Milano
Antonov
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Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Sacabambaspis janvieri multiple specimens
Ghedo
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Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Sacabambaspis janvieri cast
Bloopityboop
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0
Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Arandaspis prionotolepis fossil
Michal Maňas
View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain
Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Arandaspis prionotolepis model P 231098
Peter Roberts (model); Rodney Start (photograph); Museums Victoria
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0
Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Overview of Eriptychius americanus PF 1795
Richard P. Dearden, Agnese Lanzetti, Sam Giles, Zerina Johanson, Andy S. Jones, Stephan Lautenschlager, Emma Randle & Ivan J. Sansom
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0
Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Tooth structures of the Panderodus specimen from the town of Waukesha
Duncan J. E. Murdock, M. Paul Smith
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0
Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Conodont crystal orientation maps — Shirley et al. 2024 Figure 2
Bryan Shirley and colleagues
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Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Body fossil of Panderodus from the waukesha biota
Duncan J. E. Murdock & M. Paul Smith
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0
Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Ordovician glacial pavement, Tassili n'Ajjer
IUGS International Commission on Geoheritage; individual photographer not established
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Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Scientific figure · source page 3
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Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
2026 fish genus-richness curve — standalone Figure 1A
Wahei Hagiwara and Lauren Sallan
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0
Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Gotland-reef hg
Hannes Grobe
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 2.5
Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Qianodus holotype
Plamsome
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0
Tujiaaspis vividus — Nature Figure 1 holotype and anatomical drawing
Zhikun Gai and colleagues; specimen photography Lijian Peng, drawing Aijuan Shi
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Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Cephalaspis Wiki1
Petr Menshikov ( https://twitter.com/Petr75113553 ; https://vk.com/prehistoricproduction )
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0
Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Zhu et al. 2022 Figure 2 — Xiushanosteus mirabilis fossils and anatomical reconstruction
Min Zhu and colleagues / IVPP
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Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Zhu et al. 2022 Figure 3 — Shenacanthus vermiformis fossil and interpretation
You-an Zhu and colleagues / IVPP; Nature (Springer Nature)
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Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Eosteus chongqingensis — Nature Figure 1 fossil views
You-an Zhu and colleagues
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Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Megamastax amblyodus — Nature Figure 1 fossil and CT views
Jing Lu and colleagues
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Gemuendina stuertzi cast (cropped)
Bloopityboop
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0
Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Doliodus pectoral skeleton and spine array — complete Figure 2
Maisey and colleagues, American Museum of Natural History
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Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Youngolepis praecursor Fig1
Xindong Cui, Matt Friedman, Tuo Qiao, Yilun Yu & Min Zhu
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Granddad, Shedd Aquarium, Chicago
CusterDome
View original source ↗Source licence: CC0
Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Polypterus senegalus - Senegal-Flösselhecht, close up
5snake5
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Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.
Dunkleosteus at Cleveland Museum of Natural History big
Robosorne
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
Incorporated into an explanatory animation; presentation may include cropping, labels and overlays.

Animation design references 5 sources

These works informed the design of explanatory animations. A reference listed here is not necessarily reproduced on screen.

Sacabambaspis tail specimens — Pradel et al. 2007 Figure 1
Pradel and colleagues
View original source ↗
Sacabambaspis revised tail interpretation — Pradel et al. 2007 Figure 2
Pradel and colleagues
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Scottish cephalaspids — Figure 5.4 A/B headshield drawings and C complete fossil
Stensio 1932 / Natural History Museum London, reproduced in Scottish GCR
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Figure or page excerpt cropped from the source publication.
Gillis et al. 2013 Figure 5 — Dlx patterning and serial homology of pharyngeal arches
Gillis, Modrell and Baker
View original source ↗
Figure or page excerpt cropped from the source publication.
Dunkleosteus terrelli 2024 reconstruction
Russell K. Engelman
View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

Research references

Selected sources from the episode’s research and scientific figures.

Music

Meditation From The Star Orion
OctahedronMusic · Envato Elements

How this film was made

Created and editorially directed by Anders Lunde using a custom production system developed over six months. AI assists research, drafting, programming, and visual production; I review and edit the material and make the final editorial decisions. Narration uses text-to-speech. Visuals combine custom-built scientific animations, AI-generated reconstructions, and credited scientific imagery.

Generated reconstructions illustrate scientific interpretations. They are distinct from photographs, specimens, and measured data.

More about the creator and production →

Visual credits

Leptograptus fossil graptolites (Viola Formation, Ordovician; Murray County, Oklahoma, USA) (17391415055)

Brachiopods in limestone (Richmondian Stage, Upper Ordovician; Southgate Hill roadcut, Indiana, USA) 1

Amplexopora filiasa (fossil bryozoan) (Upper Ordovician; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA)

Iocrinus subcrassus, crinoid, Late Ordovician, McMillan Formation, Butler County, Ohio, USA - Houston Museum of Natural Science - DSC01499

Flexicalymene meeki (fossil trilobite) (Upper Ordovician; Cincinnati area, USA)

Endoceras spp Svezia Museo Milano

Sacabambaspis janvieri multiple specimens

Sacabambaspis janvieri cast

Arandaspis prionotolepis fossil

Arandaspis prionotolepis model P 231098

Overview of Eriptychius americanus PF 1795

Tooth structures of the Panderodus specimen from the town of Waukesha

Conodont crystal orientation maps — Shirley et al. 2024 Figure 2

Body fossil of Panderodus from the waukesha biota

Ordovician glacial pavement, Tassili n'Ajjer

Scientific figure · source page 3

2026 fish genus-richness curve — standalone Figure 1A

Gotland-reef hg

Qianodus holotype

Tujiaaspis vividus — Nature Figure 1 holotype and anatomical drawing

Cephalaspis Wiki1

Zhu et al. 2022 Figure 2 — Xiushanosteus mirabilis fossils and anatomical reconstruction

Zhu et al. 2022 Figure 3 — Shenacanthus vermiformis fossil and interpretation

Eosteus chongqingensis — Nature Figure 1 fossil views

Megamastax amblyodus — Nature Figure 1 fossil and CT views

Gemuendina stuertzi cast (cropped)

Doliodus pectoral skeleton and spine array — complete Figure 2

Youngolepis praecursor Fig1

Granddad, Shedd Aquarium, Chicago

Polypterus senegalus - Senegal-Flösselhecht, close up

Dunkleosteus at Cleveland Museum of Natural History big

Sacabambaspis tail specimens — Pradel et al. 2007 Figure 1

Sacabambaspis revised tail interpretation — Pradel et al. 2007 Figure 2

Scottish cephalaspids — Figure 5.4 A/B headshield drawings and C complete fossil

Gillis et al. 2013 Figure 5 — Dlx patterning and serial homology of pharyngeal arches

Dunkleosteus terrelli 2024 reconstruction

Research references

Music

How this film was made