An international team of scientists has uncovered a fascinating piece of the evolutionary puzzle: how the ventral nerve cord, a key component of the central nervous system, evolved in ecdysozoan animals, a group that includes insects, nematodes, and priapulid worms. Their findings provide valuable insights into the origins of these structures in the basal Cambrian period.

Science Daily

United States

New fossil discovery sheds light on the early evolution of animal nervous systems

Imagine looking at a photo of your great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents side by side. You see the similarities, but each generation looks different from its predecessors. This is the simplest form of the evolutionary process: descent with change. Over many generations, an incredible amount of change is possible. This is how the diversity of life on Earth came about. However, this idea has long been misunderstood, interpreted as leading …

Képzeljük el, hogy a dédszüleink, nagyszüleink és szüleink egymás mellett lévő fotóját nézzük. Látjuk a hasonlóságot, de minden egyes generáció másként néz ki elődeihez képest. Ez az evolúció folyamatának legegyszerűbb formája: leszármazás változással.Sok generáció során elképesztő mennyiségű változás lehetséges. Így jött létre a Földön az élet diverzitása. Ezt az elképzelést azonban sokáig félreértették, úgy értelmezték, hogy ez az út egy irány…

Az evolúció visszafelé is haladhat

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Budapest

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Evolution can also go backwards

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Daniel Hogan

Cambrian fossils uncover ventral nerve cord evolution in ancient ecdysozoans

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Gautam Adani

Fossils Reveal Evolution of Early Nervous Systems in Ecdysozoans

Learn about the wide-ranging Ecdysozoa group of animals and how scientists solved the curious case of their nervous systems' structure.

Discover Magazine

Kalmbach Media

Jupiter

Palm Beach County

Florida

Fossils Solve a Nervous System Mystery in Molting Animals

Fossils found in China dating to 535 million years ago are some of the oldest examples of a nervous system. They reveal how the first nervous systems evolved in early relatives of worms and insects. 
Tubular incomplete specimens of Eopriapulites sphinx from the early Cambrian Kuanchuanpu Formation, showing their ventral nerve cord. Credit: Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adr0896 The new analysis, published in Science Advances, sheds…

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Cosmos Science

Royal Institution of Australia

Washington

District of Columbia

Fossil shows evolution of early nervous system half a billion years ago

A study published in Science Advances has provided groundbreaking insights into the early evolution of nervous systems in ecdysozoans, the group that includes insects and nematodes. Fossils from the Cambrian Kuanchuanpu Formation showed that ancient organisms like Eopriapulites had a single ventral nerve cord, supporting its ancestral role. Researchers suggest paired …A study published in Science Advances has provided groundbreaking insights int…

New fossil discovery sheds light on the early evolution of animal nervous systems

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