Mass Extinction Triggered the Early Radiations of Jawed Vertebrates and Relatives (Gnathostomes)

Abstract

Most vertebrate lineages are first recorded from the mid-Paleozoic, well after their Cambrian origin and Ordovician invertebrate biodiversification events. This delay has been poorly understood and is usually attributed to sampling and long ghost lineages. We analyzed new databases of Paleozoic vertebrate occurrences, biogeography, and ecosystems, revealing that the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction (~444-443 million years ago) triggered parallel, endemic radiations of jawed and related jawless vertebrates (gnathostomes) in isolated refugia. Post-extinction ecosystems hosted the first definitive appearances of most major vertebrate lineages of the Paleozoic "Age of Fishes" (and today), following the loss of ubiquitous stem-cyclostome conodonts, nascent faunas of other gnathostomes, and pelagic invertebrates. Turnover and recovery patterns matched those following climatically similar events like the end-Devonian mass extinction, including a post-extinction "gap" with low biodiversity. The prolonged 23 million year Silurian recovery, and the challenges of oceanic dispersal, likely further delayed the dominance of jawed gnathostomes for millions of years after the first fossil jaws.