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4d ago

First Soft-Bodied Cambrian Fossils Found in Grand Canyon Reveal Evolutionary ‘Goldilocks Zone’

Published in Science Advances, the discovery of tiny soft-bodied fossils with elaborate feeding structures is shaping new models of how oxygen-rich shallow seas drove rapid animal diversification.

Researchers uncovered the internal body parts of Cambrian fauna, such as these bits of sternums from crustaceans.
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Stunning Grand Canyon Fossils Reveal Evolution's Weird Experiments

Overview

  • A University of Cambridge-led team reported in Science Advances the first soft-bodied animal fossils from the middle Cambrian Bright Angel Formation, dating 507 to 502 million years ago.
  • Analyses show that shallow, oxygen-rich and nutrient-laden waters in the ancient Grand Canyon acted as a ‘Goldilocks zone’ that fueled accelerated evolution during the Cambrian explosion.
  • Researchers dissolved mudstone samples in hydrofluoric acid, sieved the residues and used high-powered microscopy to extract and identify thousands of microscopic fossils.
  • The assemblage includes rock-scraping mollusks with tooth belts, filter-feeding crustaceans bearing comb-like limbs and molar structures, spiky-toothed worms and a newly named priapulid, Kraytdraco spectatus, with branching dental arrays.
  • Scientists are now integrating these findings into broader models of Cambrian biodiversity and environmental drivers to refine our understanding of early animal diversification.