Exceptionally well-preserved fossils from the Cambrian period have helped fill a gap in our understanding of the origin and evolution of major animal groups alive today. A new analysis of fossils ...

The evolution of complexity The traditional view of the issue postulates that the sponges were the first group to diverge from the lineage that gave rise to all other animals -- in other words ...

This groundbreaking discovery enriches our understanding of ecdysozoan evolution and underscores the role of the fossil record in addressing key questions about early animal development.

In groundbreaking research, a team of international scientists has uncovered key insights into the early evolution of animal ... evolved in ecdysozoan animals, a group that includes insects ...

The evolution of eyes, legs or shells also began during this major divergence of animal groups beginning over 500 million years ago. This diversification includes the mandibulates, which are one ...

This is what has made them such a successful and enduring group through the ages.” Exceptionally well-preserved fossils from the Cambrian period have helped fill a gap in our understanding of the ...

The story of two of the strangest animals on the planet just ... of Louisville who studies early mammalian evolution. “They are one of the defining groups of mammals,” Rougier said.

The finding settles a central question about the evolution ... sister to all animals. In the quest to identify which living animals are most closely related to this sister group, scientists ...

Figure 2: Gene duplication events do not correlate with the origin of the principal animal groups. Overall, the in silico comparison of the evolution of signalling pathways allows several ...

but considering the more than 7 million species of animals currently alive, 223 is a relatively small number. "It's actually a fairly rare transition," she said. Most parasite groups evolved ...

“Understanding these deepest relationships in the animal tree of life is absolutely critical for reconstructing the history of the origin and evolution ... kind of linkage group: they don ...