Rare Cambrian Fossils from Utah Reveal Unexpected Anatomical Complexity in Early Comb Jellies
Published:24 Aug.2021 Source:Harvard University, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
These hypotheses carry different and important implications for understanding the origin of animals themselves because, depending on the position of comb jellies in the tree of life, it’s possible that muscles and the nervous system might have had multiple origins, a rather big deal as these are some of the most distinguishing features of animals today.
In a study published in iScience an international team of researchers describe two new species of fossil ctenophores from the mid-Cambrian of Western USA, one of which has a preserved nervous system, which illuminates the early evolution of nervous and sensory features in ctenophores.