This Ancient Fish Gave the Whole Ocean the Stiff Lower Lip

USC Environmental Studies alumnus Jack Tamisiea is a science writer who covers natural history and the environment. His writing has appeared in notable publications, incuding the New York Times, Science, National Geographic, and more. In his most recent New York Times story, he covers a surprising new discovery about a Devonian Period fish called the Aliencanthus, initially known for its set of large, bony spines. A recently uncovered fossilized Aliencanthus skull reveals that these so-called spines were actually the fish’s elongated lower jaw. “Measuring twice as long as the rest of the fish’s skull, this lower jaw gave Aliencanthus nature’s most extreme underbite, and, perhaps, a stiff lower lip,” Tamisiea said.