If you were to suggest that members of Elasmobranchii — the subclass of cartilaginous fishes that includes sharks, rays, and skates — look incredibly different from us humans, I doubt that many people would argue the point. In fact, one look at the alien-like skeleton of Leucoraja erinacea, the species of skate pictured up top, would drive your assertion home rather nicely, wouldn't you say?
But it turns out Elasmobronchii like L. erinacea (aka the "little skate") are even more alien than we once thought. Research published in today's issue of Science reveals that members of Elasmobranchii are the only known jawed vertebrates on Earth that are missing a portion of their genome known as the HoxC gene cluster — a crucial chunk of genetic information that, until now, was believed to be indispensable.
Read More: http://io9.com/5867515/
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