Response to comment on “Exceptional preservation of organs in Devonian placoderms from the Gogo largerstätte”

Jensen et al. (1) question evidence presented of a chambered heart within placoderms, citing its small size and apparently ventral atrium. However, they fail to note the belly-up orientation of the placoderm within one nodule, and the variability of heart morphology within extant taxa. Thus, we remain confident in our interpretation of the mineralized organ as the heart. © 2024 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Preservation, Organs, Heart, Morphology, Animals, Fossils, Jaw, Anatomy, Decay

Citation

Trinajstic, K., Long, J., Sanchez, S., Boisvert, C. A., Snitting, D., Tafforeau, P., Dupret, V., Clement, A. M., Currie, P. D., Roelofs, B., Bevitt, J. J., Lee, M. S. Y., & Ahlberg, P. E. (2023). Response to comment on “Exceptional preservation of organs in Devonian placoderms from the Gogo largerstätte”. Science, 380(6645), eadg3748. doi:10.1126/science.adg3748