gnathostome

/ ˈneɪθəʊˌstəʊm /

noun

1. any vertebrate of the superclass Gnathostomata , having a mouth with jaws, including all vertebrates except the agnathans

Other Word Forms

• gnathostomatous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gnathostome¹

from New Latin Gnathostomata , from Greek gnathos jaw + stoma mouth

Example Sentences

But until recently, the number of useful Silurian gnathostome fossils could be counted on one hand.

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Overall, the genome is the least derived among known vertebrates and is therefore a good model for inferring the state of the ancestral chondrichthyan and gnathostome genomes.

Read more on Nature