Collection: Jawless Fish

The term Agnatha serves mainly to distinguish fish without jaws from all other fishes. Jawless fish evolved possibly as early as the Upper Cambrian (approx. 500 MYA) and today, there are two very different kinds of jawless fish – hagfish and lampreys. Paleozoic agnathans were much more diverse and many even had developed skeletons. Mazon Creek representatives of lampreys and hagfish are unusual in that they provide a record of soft-bodied jawless fish which show a striking similarity to modern forms.