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Published July 9, 2004 | Supplemental Material
Journal Article Open

Cambrian Small Bilaterian Fossils from 40 to 55 Million Years Before the Cambrian

Abstract

Ten phosphatized specimens of a small (<180 micrometers) animal displaying clear bilaterian features have been recovered from the Doushantuo Formation, China, dating from 40 to 55 million years before the Cambrian. Seen in sections, this animal (Vernanimalcula guizhouena gen. et sp. nov.) had paired coeloms extending the length of the gut; paired external pits that could be sense organs; bilateral, anterior-posterior organization; a ventrally directed anterior mouth with thick walled pharynx; and a triploblastic structure. The structural complexity is that of an adult rather than a larval form. These fossils provide the first evidence confirming the phylogenetic inference that Bilateria arose well before the Cambrian.

Additional Information

© 2004 American Association for the Advancement of Science. 16 April 2004; accepted 21 May 2004. Published online 3 June 2004; 10.1126/science.1099213. Include this information when citing this paper This research was supported by National Science Foundation of China Grant 40132010, National Department of Science and Technology Grant 2000077700, and National Laboratory of Paleontology and Stratigraphy Grant 033115 (J.-Y.C.), the National Science Council of Taiwan (C.-W.L.), and NASA/Ames Grant NAG2-1541 (E.H.D.). P.O. was supported by the Camilla Chandler Frost Fellowship.

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August 19, 2023
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