Lukas VFN 🇪🇺1d ago

Spectacular fossil treasure trove pushes back origins of complex animals https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-04-03-spectacular-fossil-treasure-trove-pushes-back-origins-complex-animals

The dawn of the #Phanerozoic: A transitional fauna from the late #Ediacaran of Southwest China https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adu2291

"A newly discovered fossil site in southwest China has transformed our understanding of how complex animal life emerged on Earth, revealing that many key animal groups had already evolved before the start of the #Cambrian Period."

Richard Michael Blaber2d ago
https://theconversation.com/humans-closest-invertebrate-ancestors-date-back-much-further-than-thought-how-we-discovered-the-fossils-that-show-this-279793; https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adu2291 (abstract only). "Most striking of all, we found the oldest #evidence for the group to which we #humans belong: the deuterostomes. Several of these specimens have a stalk & tentacles, & closely resemble a group of #Cambrian #fossils called cambroernids. These now-extinct #animals are related to living starfish & acorn worms - the closest #invertebrate relatives to humans." See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterostome.
Humans’ closest invertebrate ancestors date back much further than thought – how we discovered the fossils that show this

Did Earth’s major diversification event really happen in one sudden explosion? Our fossil discovery suggests not.

The Conversation
Ars Technica News4d ago
New fossil deposits show complex animal groups predating the Cambrian https://arstechni.ca/JyYJ #paleontology #ediacaran #evolution #Cambrian #Science #Biology #fossils
New fossil deposits show complex animal groups predating the Cambrian

Collection of fossils includes Ediacaran, Cambrian species, suggesting a transition.

Ars Technica
Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻‍💻🧬Mar 31
A Billion Years Are Mysteriously Missing From #Earth’s History. Now, We Know Why.
#TheGreatUnconformity — a gap in Earth’s #geologicalrecord. New research suggests it was created by shifting continents, rather than “#SnowballEarth” or #Cambrian life. Evidence that the gap was largely created by #tectonic processes that occurred from 2.1B to 1.6B years ago, in the #Neoproterozoic era, during the formation of an ancient supercontinent called Columbia
https://www.404media.co/great-unconformity-gap-geological-record-study-columbia/
https://archive.ph/glmuh
A Billion Years Are Mysteriously Missing From Earth’s History. Now, We Know Why.

The Great Unconformity — a gap in Earth’s geological record — has puzzled scientists for 150 years. New research suggests it was created by shifting continents, rather than “snowball Earths” or Cambrian life.

404 Media
charring auhMar 23
#Cambrian ( /ˈkæmbri.ən, ˈkeɪm-/ KAM-bree-ən, KAYM-) is the first geological period of the #Paleozoic Era and the #Phanerozoic Eon.[5] The Cambrian lasted 51.95 millio
Resolviendo la incógnita 🌐Mar 6
El Herpetogaster fue un animal, posiblemente gregario, de 3-4 cm del Cámbrico temprano (505 MdA) con un estolón que lo fijaba al suelo oceánico y unos tentáculos con los que podría haber capturado su alimento. 📷Marianne Collins #cambrico #cambrian
Resolviendo la incógnita 🌐Mar 6
El Saccorhytus coronarius fue un animal del Cámbrico (540 MdA) de 1,3 mm con una gran boca. Probablemente formara parte de la meiofauna, viviendo en la arena. 📷PaleoEquii #cambrico #cambrian
Resolviendo la incógnita 🌐Feb 27
El Myllokunmingia fengjiaoa fue un cordado del Cámbrico inferior (518 MdA) de 28 mm de largo. No hay consenso sobre si se trata un vertebrado pero, si lo fuera, sería el más antiguo conocido. Tenía cuatro ojos, conservándose los dos centrales en nuestra glándula pineal. 📷Nix #cambrico #cambrian
Resolviendo la incógnita 🌐Feb 26
Marrella splendens fue un artrópodo marino filtrador del Cámbrico medio (507-497 MdA). Gracias a un fósil en ecdisis, se sabe que mudaba su exoesqueleto. 🏛️Museo de las Ciencias de Trento #cambrico #cambrian
Resolviendo la incógnita 🌐Feb 25
El Kerygmachela kierkegaardi es un lobopodio (como el "gusano" de Shingeki no kyojin) branquiado del Cámbrico (521-514 MdA) similar al radiodonto Anomalocaris. Aunque se cree que fue un depredador, su boca pequeña habría restringido el tamaño de sus presas. 📷Junnn11 #cambrico #cambrian