A century-old fossil once thought to be a worm is now rewriting the story of arthropod evolution as the first-known nonmarine lobopodian. A fossil tucked away in Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) has turned out to be a major find in the story of early animal evolution. First documented in 1865 and mistakenly labeled […]



Summary

A century-old fossil, initially misidentified, is shaking up our understanding of arthropod evolution. Discovered in a freshwater deposit and recently re-examined, the fossil is now recognized as the earliest known nonmarine lobopodian. This significant finding challenges the prevailing theory that lobopodians, ancient relatives of arthropods like insects and crustaceans, originated exclusively in marine environments. The identification rewrites our understanding of early arthropod diversification, suggesting a more complex and potentially freshwater-driven evolutionary path for these crucial animal ancestors. The discovery highlights the importance of re-examining old museum specimens for groundbreaking insights.

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