Katharine E. Criswell

Whole body elongation drives coordinated vertebral shape evolution in Lake Malawi cichlid fishes

The paper examines how vertebral morphology evolves in Lake Malawi cichlids, finding strong integration between precaudal and caudal vertebrae shapes during body elongation.

The skate spiracular organ develops from a unique neurogenic placode, distinct from lateral line placodes

The paper uses fate-mapping in a cartilaginous fish to show the spiracular organ develops from a unique neurogenic placode, distinct from lateral line placodes, supporting its developmental independence from the lateral line system.

Conserved and unique transcriptional features of pharyngeal arches in the skate (Leucoraja erinacea) and evolution of the jaw

The paper identifies conserved and unique transcriptional features in pharyngeal arches of skates, supporting serial homology of jaw and gill arches while highlighting distinct developmental mechanisms.

Resegmentation is an ancestral feature of the gnathostome vertebral skeleton

This study shows that resegmentation, a process seen in tetrapods, also occurs in cartilaginous fish, indicating it is an ancestral feature of jawed vertebrates.