Figure 4:

Origin and evolution of desmosomal cadherins. Nearly all animals have adherens junctions composed of classical cadherins, but desmosomes and desmosomal cadherins are restricted to vertebrates. Desmosomal cadherins in jawless vertebrates are uncharacterized, but desmoglein (Dsg) and desmocollin (Dsc) subfamilies appear to have diverged in the last common ancestor of jawed vertebrates. Within the desmoglein subfamily, Dsg2 and Dsg1/3/4 diverged in the last common ancestor of tetrapods. Mammals exhibit the greatest desmocollin and desmoglein diversity, with fully distinct paralogs of Dsc1,2,3 and Dsg1,2,3,4 in all major lineages, except cetaceans, which appear to have lost Dsg4 (indicated by asterisk).