A 500-Million-Year-Old Fossil Adds a New Clue to a Missing Chapter of Animal Evolution
A 500-million-year-old fossil has provided new insights into a poorly understood period of animal evolution. The discovery of the arthropod Magnicornaspis garwoodi suggests that the late Cambrian may have been more diverse than previously thought. This finding emphasizes the importance of revisiting older fossil collections with modern techniques to enhance our understanding of ancient ecosystems.
- ▪The fossil was discovered in Québec's Rivière-du-Loup Formation, which was not known for preserving such delicate specimens.
- ▪Magnicornaspis garwoodi is an early arthropod that features unique forward-pointing spines, indicating a more complex ecosystem during the late Cambrian.
- ▪Researchers believe that overlooked sedimentary rocks may hold more fossils from this time period, suggesting a richer biodiversity than previously recognized.
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In 1962, a geologist surveying rock formations near Québec pulled a thumb-sized creature from a slab of black shale and shipped it to Washington. It was cataloged, stored, and pretty much forgotten. More than six decades later, a team of paleontologists returned to the specimen and took a closer look.What the team saw was a 500-million-year-old arthropod, a distant relative of spiders and scorpions, from one of the least-understood windows in evolutionary history. Published in BMC Biology, the discovery of Magnicornaspis garwoodi by researchers at Flinders University in Australia and Germany's Karlsruhe Institute of Technology suggests the late Cambrian may not have been as empty as the fossil record makes it seem.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Discover Magazine.
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