BIOL360 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Biomineralization, Devonian, Apatite
12 Apr 2016
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Document Summary
The skeleton= backbone, skull (enclosing brain and sense organs) and bones supporting limbs/fins. Largest animals on land, sea and in air. Bone= collagen fibers on which crystals of apatite and calcium phosphate form; this makes bones flexible. Cartilage= flexible and un-mineralized; collagen and elastic tissues. You can have mineralized vs. un-mineralized skeleton. Inner skeleton was major innovation- it can grow with the animal, and become very large. External skeleton: cannot grow and adapt so fast; less able to support large mass; vulnerable to damage. First vertebrates had no jaws, armoured, most common during devonian but the armored jawless fishes died out by the end of the devonian. They have an external thin-body skeleton, no internal skeleton; had lateral line, which is a series of sensory organs that allow the fish to detect the movement of other organisms around them (seen in modern fishes). Semi-circular head shield with openings for eyes and nostrils.
