The process that led to the transformation of invertebrates into vertebrates has been a mystery for centuries. However, the team has used new techniques to analyze Yunanozocreatures of the Cambrian period, and suggests that they may be the oldest known extinct vertebrate ancestors.
study it science publishing Scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have used hitherto unexplored techniques to classify fish-like Yunanozoans with eyes and brains at one end of a soft, worm-like body.
These mysterious creatures, which sailed the seas 520 million years ago during the Early Cambrian, were the ancient ancestors of modern vertebrates, because they present the unmistakable feature of a pharyngeal skeleton made of cellular cartilage.
The team thinks they are “Oldest Mothers of Known Vertebrates”According to a statement issued by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The term “mother vertebrates” refers to extinct vertebrates but is closely related to living vertebrates.
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Insights from this fossil analysis could provide clues to the early evolution of the pharyngeal skeleton, which was an important innovation in vertebrate evolution, and likely lays the foundation for the development of the jaw and skull.
Over the years, when scientists have studied how vertebrates evolved, one of the main axes of research has been the pharyngeal arches, those structures that produce parts of the face and neck, such as muscle, bone, and connective tissue.
To better understand the role of the pharyngeal arch in ancient vertebrates, the team studied 127 soft-body Yunnanozuan fossils found in the province of Yunnan (China)through methods such as X-ray microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy.
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By looking closely at the cellular and subcellular formations of structures in Yunnanozoans, which closely resemble the cartilaginous gill arches of modern vertebrates, they find that they are composed of cartilage within an extracellular matrix of microfibrils.
According to the authors, this combination of tissues has been considered a hallmark of vertebrates, findings that support the idea that Yunanozoans are backbone vertebrates.
