rhamphotheca:Theelephant shark, Callorhinchus milii … is a cartilaginous fish (not actually a shark
rhamphotheca:The elephant shark, Callorhinchus milii … is a cartilaginous fish (not actually a shark but a ratfish or chimera) native to the Southwest Pacific off southern Australia and New Zealand. Because of its relatively small genome, this species has been targeted as a model organism for vertebrate molecular evolution. In a whole-genome analysis published in Nature today, Byrappa Venkatesh & colleagues report that the elephant shark has the slowest rate of evolution of any known vertebrate. Its genome has not changed substantially in hundreds of millions of years. Comparison of the elephant shark genome with those of other vertebrates also provides intriguing insights into the evolution of vertebrate skeletons and immune systems. Check out the paper for details More about this species: Encyclopedia of LifeImage by fir0002 | flagstaffotos.com.au via Wikimedia Commons -- source link