Half-billion-year-old fossils rewrite the origin story of starfish

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Add as preferred source Fossils of Yujingia glutenotunica . Credit: Kaiyue He et al. Scientists have discovered several 518-million-year-old fossils that reshape understanding of the origins of the animal group containing starfish. The fossils show that these animals ate using tentacles rather than passively using their gills, as previously thought.

The fossilized animals, discovered in southwestern China and named Yujingia glutenotunica, are thought to be close to the last common ancestor of ambulacrarians, the modern group that includes starfish, sea stars, sea urchins and acorn worms.