Human Middle Ear , Evolved From Fish Gills, Study Suggests.br According to a new study of a 438-million-year-old br fossilized fish brain, the middle ear br of humans evolved from fish.br 'Newsweek' reports that scientists managed to recreate seven virtual casts of the fossilized braincase of an ancient Shuyu fish.br The team from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) studied the spiracle, slits behind the eyes which allow some species to breathe.br The spiracle is responsible for the intake br of water before it is expelled from br the gills of sharks and rays.br The spiracle is responsible for the intake br of water before it is expelled from br the gills of sharks and rays.br These fossils provided the first anatomical br and fossil evidence for a vertebrate br spiracle originating from fish gills, Professor Zhikun Gai, first author of the study br from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, via 'Newsweek'.br According to the team, the spiracle br evolved into the ear of modern br four legged vertebrates.br According to the team, the spiracle br evolved into the ear of modern br four legged vertebrates.br Over time, the spiracle developed into br the hearing canal which transmits sound br to the brain through tiny inner ear bones.br Our finding bridges the entire history of br the spiracular slit, bringing together recent br discoveries from the gill pouches of fossil br jawless vertebrates, via the spiracles of br the earliest jawed vertebrates, to the middle br ears of the first tetrapods, which tells br this extraordinary evolutionary story, Professor Per Ahlberg, Uppsala University and collaborator on the research, via 'Newsweek'.br Our finding bridges the entire history of br the spiracular slit, bringing together recent br discoveries from the gill pouches of fossil br jawless vertebrates, via the spiracles of br the earliest jawed vertebrates, to the middle br ears of the first tetrapods, which tells br this extraordinary evolutionary story, Professor Per Ahlberg, Uppsala University and collaborator on the research, via 'Newsweek'.br The team's research was published in the br journal 'Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.