- Joined
- Dec 3, 2017
- Messages
- 26,290
- Reaction score
- 16,771
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Progressive
New fossil reveals origin of arthropod breathing system
Scientists have discovered a new fossil that reveals the origin of gills in arthropods.
www.sciencedaily.com
University of Manchester research fellow David Legg, in collaboration with a team of international scientists from China, Switzerland, and Sweden, has today announced a new fossil that reveals the origin of gills in arthropods.
Arthropods, the group of animals that includes creepy crawlies like spiders and woodlice, are the largest phylum in the animal kingdom and are found everywhere from the deepest ocean trench to the top of Mount Everest.
Research published today shows the newest addition to the group is a 520-million-year-old (about 10 times as old as the dinosaurs) organism called Erratus sperare. Erratus sperare was discovered in the Chengjiang Fossil Site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Yunnan, China. The Chengjiang Fossil Site preserves an ancient underwater ecosystem which included the relatives of some well-known arthropod fossils like trilobites and anomalocarids.
======================================================
It's always a great day when someone figures out where we all came from.