Science, Space and Technology News 2024
, showing external view from below; internal organs, with ventral organs omitted; internal organs; oblique view showing internal anatomy. Credit: Emma J. Long
This fossil dates back over 520 million years to the Cambrian period, when the major animal groups we know today were first evolving. This fossil belongs to a group called the euarthropods, which includes modern insects, spiders, and crabs. What makes this fossil so special is that the tiny larva, no bigger than a poppy seed, has its internal organs preserved in exceptional quality.
This fossil allows researchers to look under the skin of one of the first arthropod ancestors. The level of complexity anatomy shows these early arthropod-relatives were much more advanced than the researchers thought.Lead researcher, Dr Martin Smith of Durham University said: “When I used to daydream about the one fossil I’d most like to discover, I’d always be thinking of an arthropod larva, because developmental data are just so central to understanding their evolution.
The researchers point out that the fossil fills an important gap in our understanding of how the arthropod body plan originated and became so successful during the Cambrian Explosion of life.
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