Extraordinary fossils solve a 500-million-year mystery: Bryozoans were there at the dawn of animal life
Scientists have discovered 520-million-year-old fossils in China that confirm bryozoans existed during the Cambrian explosion. This discovery resolves a long-standing mystery in paleontology regarding the evolutionary origins of these colonial invertebrates.
Why it matters
This finding fills a significant gap in the fossil record, providing a more complete understanding of the rapid diversification of animal life 500 million years ago.
image: The early Cambrian bryozoan Protomelission gatehousei from the Xiann dong Formation, South China. Image shows a colony with individual capsules, called zooids, that held separate individuals of the colony.
The article is a purely scientific report on a paleontological discovery.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in