Scientists have unearthed extraordinarily preserved fossils of a
520-million-year-old sea creature, one of the earliest animal fossils
ever found, according to a new study.
The fossilized animal, an arthropod
called a fuxhianhuiid, has primitive limbs under its head, as well as
the earliest example of a nervous system that extended past the head.
The primitive creature may have used the limbs to push food into its
mouth as it crept across the seafloor. The limbs may shed light on the
evolutionary history of arthropods, which include crustaceans and insects.
"Since biologists rely heavily on organization of head appendages to
classify arthropod groups, such as insects and spiders, our study
provides a crucial reference point for reconstructing the evolutionary
history and relationships of the most diverse and abundant animals on
Earth," said study co-author Javier Ortega-Hernández, an earth scientist
at the University of Cambridge, in a statement. "This is as early as we
can currently see into arthropod limb development."
The findings were published today (Feb. 27) in the journal Nature.
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