Hemichordate Revealed: 525-Million-Year-Old Fossil Of Tentacled Creature
Thursday, March 24, 2011 - 17:00
in Paleontology & Archaeology
Researchers have discovered a 525-million-year-old fossil which belongs to a group of tentacle-bearing creatures which lived inside hard tubes. The creature belongs to a group called pterobranch hemichordates which are related to starfish and sea urchins but also show some characteristics that offer clues to the evolution of the earliest vertebrates. About 30 species of pterobranch are known to exist today although 380-490 million years ago a group of these animals called graptolites were common across the prehistoric oceans. read more