The mystery of the beginning of paleontology was solved by chance by describing a fossil of a Moroccan arthropod: it is the most ancient ancestor of chelicerates
A study of the fossils of archaeological site An African scientist has revealed the ancestor of spiders, scorpions and horseshoe crabs, solving a paleontological mystery that has spanned decades, virtually the entire existence of past animal science. The work was a joint effort between the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS).
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Both horseshoe crabs, scorpions and spiders belong to the arthropod lineage, which appeared on our planet about 540 million years ago. They are all part of a subgroup famous for their creatures with claws used to bite, grab prey or inject venom: the chelicerae, hence the name chelicerates (Chelicerata). His ancestors were, until then, unknown.
The missing link of the chelicerates
The mystery of the ancestors of the Chelicerates occupied the minds of the paleontologists long ago, as there were no ancient arthropods similar enough to modern representatives to indicate ancestry. The period between 505 and 430 million years ago, in particular, was absent in the fossils, complicating the issue.
Enter Lorenzo Lustri, a doctoral student at the University of Lausanne, who was studying 478-million-year-old fossils from the Fezouata shale, in Morocco. Remains were found in the region in the early 2000s, but some had not yet been described. Lustri was describing one, dating back to the Cambrian period, and was surprised when he noticed its characteristics.
Measuring between 5 and 10 millimeters in length, the species has earned the scientific name of Setapedite abundantand was described based on 100 specimens studied with X-ray scanners, allowing the creation of complete 3D anatomical models.
While the similarity is sufficient to demonstrate ancestry, more in-depth studies will be needed to establish a more solid link and understand the evolution of chelicerates at the beginning of time.
Source: Nature communications
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Source: Terra
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