Scientists say they have discovered a "stunning" trove of thousands of fossils on a river bank in China.
The fossils are estimated to be about 518 million years old, and are particularly unusual because the soft body tissue of many creatures, including their skin, eyes, and internal organs, have been "exquisitely" well preserved.
Palaeontologists have called the findings "mind-blowing" - especially because more than half the fossils are previously undiscovered species.
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10 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I'm wondering if they were preserved well enough for DNA to be extracted. 518 million years is very very old for something like that though.
AtheistNews
Level 6
Mar 25, 2019
0
Amazing levels of preservation. This is up there with the Burgess and Chengjiang lagerstatten. I hope one day we'll discover an equivalent Ediacaran deposit.
MrBeelzeebubbles
Level 7
Mar 24, 2019
3
Something new! Thanks.
"Yet most of the major animal lineages were established in a singular event in the history of life, the Cambrian explosion, the likes of which have never been seen before or after. It also reminds us of our deep kinship to all living animals."
AstralSmoke
Level 8
Mar 24, 2019
2
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