The Cambrian Explosion’s Strange-Looking Poster Child
Post date: Aug 5, 2015 11:40:43 AM
July 2, 2015
The Cambrian Explosion’s Strange-Looking Poster Child
By CARL ZIMMER
For years, scientists struggled to explain the mysteries of a worm named Hallucigenia,
but two new studies explain some of its quirks, and found it some cousins.
A fossil of Collinsium ciliosum, which had 30 limbs, and 72 spikes on its back. Credit Jie Yang
A velvet worm. Scientists concluded that Hallucigenia and its relatives are the ancestors of this species.
Credit Dr. Morley Read/Science Source