Placoderms appeared in the Silurian period and rapidly evolved and dominated the waters during the Devonian period. Among the earliest of the placoderms are yunnanolepids, a primitive form of antiarch from the Early Devonian of China and Vietnam. Very little work has so far been devoted to this family, and previous descriptions are based on conventional preparation methods. We can now take a closer look at a yunnanolepid specimen with the help of three dimensional modelling based on a synchrotron X-ray microtomographic scan series. The well preserved anterior ventrolateral plate exhibits an opening for the pectoral fin, clearly visible structures, and outer ornamentation. A first 3D image of the mysterious hollow called Chang’s apparatus has been constructed. Chang’s apparatus has only ever been seen in Yunnanolepididae, but never described in detail, and its function remains unknown. The trunk plate has captured settling sediment and in the inwash can be found tooth plates and scales of other gnathostomes. Among these are two well preserved anterior ventrolateral plates of young antiarchs. No ornamentation can be seen on the juveniles and their postbranchial lamina had not yet developed. / Placodermer (pansarhajar) är en grupp tidiga käkförsedda fiskar som dök upp under tidig silur. De spred sig snabbt under silur och dominerade världens vatten under devon, för att helt dö ut i slutet av devon. En av de allra tidigaste grupperna av placodermer är en grupp som kallas yunnanolepider, de var en primitiv form av antiarcher (armpansarhajar) från tidig devon i Kina och Vietnam. Man vet väldigt lite om denna grupp, och alla tidigare beskrivningar har baserats på konventionella prepareringsmetoder där man mekaniskt avlägsnat sediment som omgav fossilet. Här har ett fossil beskrivits med hjälp av röntgenbaserad mikrotomografi som sedan modellerats digitalt. Modellen visar en välbevarad bröstplåt, del av skuldergördelen, från yunnanolepiden. Denna visar en öppning med fäste för bröstfenan, interna strukturer och yttre ornamentering. Man kan här få en första syn på en intern hålighet som kallas Chang’s apparatus som aldrig tidigare har beskrivits i detalj. I sedimentet som samlats i bröstplåten kan man även se delar av andra organismer, såsom en tandplatta och fjäll. Bland dessa bitar finns två välbevarade bröstplåtar från juvenila antiarcher.

Placoderms are restricted to the Devonian in the Prague Basin, occuring on localities dated from the Lochkovian to the Givetian. Černá rokle near Kosoř with the Radotin Limestone is the richest placoderm bearing locality. A revision of specimens from collections of the National Museum in Pra- gue confirms occurences of three species of two genera belonging to the pla- coderm order Acanthothoraci: Radotina kosorensis Gross, 1950; Radotina tesselata Gross, 1958 and Kosoraspis peckai Gross, 1959. Genus Holopeta- lichthys was accepted as valid and a diagnosis of H. primus (Barrande, 1872) was amended. Its assignment to higher taxonomic units remains uncertain. Four morphological types of undeterminable specimens classified in the order Arthrodira are defined. Some previously unpublished morphological structures are figured and described: the median dorsal plate of the thoracic armour of R. kosorensis and its relation to the head shield, the cranial cavities and trunk shield plates of R. tesselata, a well preserved neurocranium and scales of K. peckai, the trunk shield and vertebral column of H. primus and large dermal plates of each Arthrodiran morphotype. The placoderm diversity in the Prague Basin was lower compared to ne- ighbouring areas at the beginning of the Devonian (Lochkovian and Pra- gian). Only...

This thesis deals with early vertebrate fossil remains from the Lower Palaeozoic strata of the Barrandian area (Bohemian Massif). It is presented as a compilation of four papers that were published or submitted in scientific peer-reviewed journals with impact factor. All included papers are focused on the most abundant and diverse vertebrate fauna from the Barrandian area - the placoderms. Placodermi are early vertebrates characterized by articulated head and trunk shields composed of dermal bony plates. In the Barrandian area, they occur exclusively in the Devonian of the Prague Basin. The main objectives of the thesis are modern taxonomic revisions of the placoderm taxa from the Prague Basin as well as discussions about trends in their abundance, diversity, and distribution in space and time, taphonomy, and the evolutionary and phylogenetic implications of their morphology. Two characteristic placoderm associations were distinguished. In the Lochkovian and Pragian, members of the group Acanthothoraci dominate the placoderm record. Acanthothoracid placoderms are among the most basal jawed vertebrates and thus a detailed study of their morphology has a great potential to illuminate the relationships and evolutionary patterns among the stem jawed vertebrates. They are most abundant in the...