Tag

Deuterostomes

All articles tagged with #deuterostomes

Oldest Deuterostomes Push Humans’ Invertebrate Kin Back to the Ediacaran
science2 months ago

Oldest Deuterostomes Push Humans’ Invertebrate Kin Back to the Ediacaran

New fossils from China’s Jiangchuan biota (about 554–539 million years ago) reveal the oldest deuterostomes—our invertebrate relatives—closely tied to cambroernids, suggesting complex animals, including lineages related to humans, existed in the late Ediacaran and persisted toward the Cambrian explosion, expanding the timeline of early animal evolution.

China’s Jiangchuan Biota: 700 Fossils Rewrite the Timeline of Early Animal Life
science4 months ago

China’s Jiangchuan Biota: 700 Fossils Rewrite the Timeline of Early Animal Life

The Jiangchuan Biota in southwest China comprises about 700 fossils dated to roughly 539–554 million years ago, revealing complex animals—including bilaterians and deuterostomes—existed in the Ediacaran period and suggesting such life predates the traditionally dated Cambrian Explosion, thereby bridging the Precambrian–Phanerozoic transition; the rarity of preservation at the site may explain why these organisms weren’t found earlier.