Spectacular fossil treasure trove pushes back origins of complex animals

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. The study, led by researchers at Oxford University’s Museum of Natural History and Department of Earth Sciences as well as Yunnan University in China, has been published today (02 April) in Science.

What may be one of Earth’s earliest animals has a punk rock vibe - Australia News Beep

Being a punk rocker means being perpetually misunderstood. So perhaps it’s vindication that that some seafloor fossils, once considered just piles of

Episode 444: Diskagma and Horodyskia | Strange Animals Podcast

Unaweep Canyon

Two creeks flow out of either end of Unaweep Canyon in opposite directions.

Tiny ancient worm sheds big light on evolution mystery

In a new study published in Current Biology, researchers describe Uncus dzaugisi, a 555-million-year-old worm-like organism preserved in the Precambrian rocks of Nilpena Ediacara National Park (NENP). This tiny fossil, barely over a few centimeters long, represents the oldest confirmed member of the Ecdysozoa and the only one known from the Precambrian period.