Paleontologists have discovered the fossil of a 500 million-year-old tunicate in the Marjum Formation of Utah. Named Megasiphon thylakos after its two large, prominent siphons and sack-like body, the discovery is important because tunicates have a poor fossil record (due…
‘Cthulhu’ Fossil Reveals Monstrous Relative of Modern Sea Cucumbers
An exceptionally-preserved fossil from Herefordshire in the UK has given new insights into the early evolution of sea cucumbers, the group that includes the sea pig and its relatives, according to a new article published in the journal Proceedings of the…
Unseen Corals: The square fossils of Goniophyllum
Ever since our visit to the vast coral collections at the Smithsonian Institution, we’ve had our mind on all the “unseen coral” species out there, living and fossil. We think we know a lot about coral but really, the aquarium hobby…
Oldest Known Sponge Fossil Found In China
A newly published article documenting the discovery of a tiny fossil from Southern China is helping to expand our understanding of the very earliest stages of the evolution of multicellular animal life. (image above is Eocyathispongia. Image from Yin et al…
Fossil of strange man-sized, swimming centipede discovered
Score another win for the arthropods, the group of animals that include insects, arachnids, myriapods, and crustaceans. Scientists have uncovered the remains of one of the first arthropods ever that could be described as a “man-sized, swimming centipede” or a…
Friday Smorgasbord: Floating art, dolphin stampedes, tidepools and more
We are a society built on consumption and our reliance on plastics is having a major impact on our environment, especially in our waterways and oceans. We’ve know about the floating islands of plastic, like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and other horror stories…
Ancient predatory fish discovered in Arctic
A new species of carnivorous fish dating back over 375 million years was recently found in the Canadian Arctic. The fossils discovered show a large river-dwelling fish that preyed whatever passed in front of it.
Seaweed fossils may be Earth’s oldest plants
An abundance of fossils resembling seaweed uncovered in southern China may prove to be some of the oldest plants ever discovered. Previously the earliest uncovered evidence of creatures resembling what we would consider modern organisms was dated around 580 million…
13 million year old seahorse fossil found in Slovenia
The photo above shows a 2.5″ fossil of Hippocampus sarmaticus which was discovered in a streambank in Slovenia. The 13 million year old fossil is one of the oldest ever found and it was closely accompanied by a handful of…
