“This is the oldest jawed fish with known anatomy,” said professor Zhu Min from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Fanjingshania was found to predate the previously believed oldest acanthodian by 15 million years.

“The new data allowed us to place Fanjingshania in the phylogenetic tree of early vertebrates and gain much needed information about the evolutionary steps leading to the origin of important vertebrate adaptations such as jaws, sensory systems and paired appendages,” Min added.