Fossils reveal many complex animals existed before the Ca...

What’s Happening

So basically Hundreds of Chinese fossils from the dawn of animal evolution may change how scientists think of this critical period of prehistory.

News Paleontology Fossils reveal many complex animals existed before the Cambrian explosion New fossils from the Ediacaran Period show that some animal groups are older than we thought Ediacaran animals live near the seafloor over 539 million years ago in what is now Yunnan, China, in this illustration. The ecosystem includes “bugle worms” the tall, cylindrical blue-green animals with a disc-shaped anchor, possible early relatives of corals, the purple animals shaped like a cocktail glass, and relatives of modern vertebrates and sea stars, the purple sausage-shaped creature on a stalk. (plot twist fr)

Xiaodong Wang By Jake Buehler 7 hours ago this: via email (Opens in new window) Email on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit on X (Opens in new window) X Print (Opens in new window) Print More than 539 million years ago, soft, clarinet-shaped animals anchored themselves to the seafloor on disc-shaped bases, swaying alongside stalked animals resembling worms and baskets.

The Details

These woodwindlike creatures are just a few of those coming to life from a treasure trove of newly found out fossils in southwestern China. It’s surprising to see some of these weird creatures this far back in the fossil record, and their discovery is unearthing crucial new details about one of the most notable explosions in the diversity of animals in fossil history , researchers report April 2 in Science .

For our We summarize the week’s scientific breakthroughs every Thursday. “This paper is absolutely fascinating,” says paleontologist Emily Mitchell at the University of Cambridge.

Why This Matters

“It provides vital insights into life around the end of the Ediacaran Period. ” The Ediacaran preceded a pivotal moment in animal prehistory called the Cambrian explosion , which kicked off around 539 million years ago and marked a dramatic and rapid diversification, an “explosion” of physical forms and complexity. How that explosion happened isn’t clear.

The scientific community tends to find developments like this significant.

The Bottom Line

How that explosion happened isn’t clear.

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