Jawless Fish (Noun)
Meaning
Eel-shaped vertebrate without jaws or paired appendages including the cyclostomes and some extinct forms.
Classification
Nouns denoting animals.
Examples
- Jawless fish were the earliest known vertebrates, appearing around 530 million years ago during the Cambrian period.
- These eel-like jawless fish dominated the early oceans before eventually being outcompeted by the jawed fish.
- Hagfish, one type of jawless fish, produce a unique slime that can help them evade predators.
- Scientists study the development of jawless fish to better understand how the jaw evolved in other vertebrates.
- Jawless fish like lampreys and hagfish continue to thrive in modern oceans despite the rise of jawed competitors.