We've discovered the oldest known bony fish fossils!

One tiny fish, just 3 cm long, shows the first mix of traits that would later appear in all modern bony fishes. The other, a big fish over 1 meter long, was the largest vertebrate of its time and helps solve a decades-old tooth puzzle.

These discoveries fill a major gap in the story of vertebrate evolution and highlight southern China as a cradle of early vertebrates.