It does not happen every day that a fossil will remain speechless even scientists. Yet it happened: a tiny larva of arthropod, lived beyond 520 million years agowas found with the brain and other perfectly preserved internal organs. A discovery that changes the way we look at the evolution of life on earth.
A very small fossil, but with an internal anatomy still intact
The discovery comes from an international study that analyzed a very rare fossil of the Cambrian period, the era in which life on Earth began to diversify explosively. Generally, when we think of fossils, we imagine petrified bones or shells. But in this case nature has done something exceptional: has also kept soft fabricsthose who usually degrade in a short time.
Thanks to advanced technology, the X -ray tomography with synchrotronthe researchers were able to “scan” the fossil and get 3D images of the interior of the body of the larva. What emerged left everyone speechless: brain, nerves, digestive glands and even a primitive circulatory system They were still there, visible and recognizable.
An fossilized larva tells the evolution
The fossil is not only well preserved. It is also extremely rare. The larvae, in fact, are very small and very fragile, so it is practically impossible to find them fossilized. But this time it happened, and with a quality of conservation defined by the same scientists as “Almost perfect”.
Martin Smithpaleontologist and main author of the study, said he dreamed of such a discovery for years. And when he observed the structures preserved under the “skin” of the fossil for the first time, he said:
My jaw has fallen. It is incredible to think that these structures have resisted decomposition by half a billion years.
Inside the larva the protochirbrobrinea primitive part of the brain which, during the evolution, has turned into the complex structures that today allow arthropods – such as insects, spiders and crustaceans – to adapt to any environment.
The research, published with detailed images, also shows i nerves who commanded their legs and eyesoffering a very rare look at how these animals developed to the dawn of complex life.
Katherine Dobsonco -author of the studio, underlined the importance of 3D Image:
It is always interesting to observe the interior of a fossil, but in this case nature has done all the work: conservation is truly exceptional.
