Scientists solve 500-million-year fossil mystery

Scientists solve 500-million-year fossil mystery

A peculiar spiny fossil, once thought to represent one of the earliest mollusks, has now been conclusively reclassified by scientists from Durham University and Yunnan University as something entirely different—a distant relative of sponge-like creatures known as chancelloriids.

500-Million-Year Fossil Mystery Solved - Ancient Pages

Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - A recent study by scientists from Durham University and Yunnan University has led to a significant reclassification of a peculiar spiny fossil, initially believed to be one of the earliest molluscs. Specimens of Shishania. A and B, specimen in different lighting conditions, showing how the uneven breakage of the specimen reveals […]

Paleontologists Solve Mystery of Spine-Covered Cambrian Fossil

Initially interpreted as a primitive Cambrian mollusk, Shishania aculeata -- a 500-million-year-old spine-covered fossil found in China’s Yunnan province -- is in fact a distant relative of sponge-like creatures known as chancelloriids. The post Paleontologists Solve Mystery of Spine-Covered Cambrian Fossil appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.