Late Ediacaran trackways produced by bilaterian animals with paired appendages - Zhe Chen, Xiang Chen, Chuanming Zhou2, Xunlai Yuan and Shuhai Xiao
Pretty exciting find this. One of the earliest evidence of the presence of bilateral animals on earth has been found in 550 - 540 million year old sedimentary rocks from China. These are not body fossils. Rather a pair of pits impressed upon the sediment surface mark the movement of an animal with paired appendages.
Abstract:
Ediacaran trace fossils provide key paleontological evidence for the evolution of early animals and their behaviors. Thus far, however, this fossil record has been limited to simple surface trails and relatively shallow burrows. We report possible trackways, preserved in association with burrows, from the terminal Ediacaran Shibantan Member (ca. 551 to ca. 541 million years ago) in the Yangtze Gorges area of South China. These trace fossils represent the earliest known trackways. They consist of two rows of imprints arranged in poorly organized series or repeated groups. These trackways may have been produced by bilaterian animals with paired appendages, although the phylum-level phylogenetic affinity of the trace makers remains unknown. It is possible that the trackways and associated burrows were produced by the same trace maker, indicating a complex behavior involving both walking and burrowing. Together, these trackways and burrows mark the arrival of a new era characterized by an increasing geobiological footprint of bilaterian animals.
Source: Zhe Chen et.al. 2018
To put this find in context to the broader trajectory of animal evolution. These sediments are 30-40 million years older than the Chengjiang Biota of China and the famous Burgess Shale of Canada. These two are known for their exceptional preservation of animal soft tissue, giving scientists a peek into the morphological diversity present at that time. However, animals did not suddenly originate during the time the Chengjiang Shale and the Burgess Shale were being deposited, as is sometimes misunderstood by some, or is deliberately and disingenuously argued by creationists.
Molecular clocks which can estimate the time of origin and divergence of organisms suggests that animals diverged from a common ancestor between 1000 million and 700 million years ago. Trace and body fossils start appearing by 600 million years ago.
I like to put up this figure which summarizes the fossil record of early animal evolution through the Late Neoproterozoic to Early-Mid Cambrian
Source: On The Origin of Phyla
You will notice an incremental increase in richness of the trace and body fossil record. The Cambrian "Explosion" was a geologically rapid diversification of the animal biosphere, fueled by a confluence of ecologic triggers. But in absolute years it took place over a 15-20 million year period.
Pretty exciting find this. One of the earliest evidence of the presence of bilateral animals on earth has been found in 550 - 540 million year old sedimentary rocks from China. These are not body fossils. Rather a pair of pits impressed upon the sediment surface mark the movement of an animal with paired appendages.
Abstract:
Ediacaran trace fossils provide key paleontological evidence for the evolution of early animals and their behaviors. Thus far, however, this fossil record has been limited to simple surface trails and relatively shallow burrows. We report possible trackways, preserved in association with burrows, from the terminal Ediacaran Shibantan Member (ca. 551 to ca. 541 million years ago) in the Yangtze Gorges area of South China. These trace fossils represent the earliest known trackways. They consist of two rows of imprints arranged in poorly organized series or repeated groups. These trackways may have been produced by bilaterian animals with paired appendages, although the phylum-level phylogenetic affinity of the trace makers remains unknown. It is possible that the trackways and associated burrows were produced by the same trace maker, indicating a complex behavior involving both walking and burrowing. Together, these trackways and burrows mark the arrival of a new era characterized by an increasing geobiological footprint of bilaterian animals.
Source: Zhe Chen et.al. 2018
To put this find in context to the broader trajectory of animal evolution. These sediments are 30-40 million years older than the Chengjiang Biota of China and the famous Burgess Shale of Canada. These two are known for their exceptional preservation of animal soft tissue, giving scientists a peek into the morphological diversity present at that time. However, animals did not suddenly originate during the time the Chengjiang Shale and the Burgess Shale were being deposited, as is sometimes misunderstood by some, or is deliberately and disingenuously argued by creationists.
Molecular clocks which can estimate the time of origin and divergence of organisms suggests that animals diverged from a common ancestor between 1000 million and 700 million years ago. Trace and body fossils start appearing by 600 million years ago.
I like to put up this figure which summarizes the fossil record of early animal evolution through the Late Neoproterozoic to Early-Mid Cambrian
Source: On The Origin of Phyla
You will notice an incremental increase in richness of the trace and body fossil record. The Cambrian "Explosion" was a geologically rapid diversification of the animal biosphere, fueled by a confluence of ecologic triggers. But in absolute years it took place over a 15-20 million year period.
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