Ancient #fossil sheds big light on #evolution enigma, solving a 100-year arthropod mystery
https://phys.org/news/2025-04-ancient-fossil-big-evolution-enigma.html

"#Helmetia expansa belongs to a rare group of early #arthropods called concilitergans, close relatives of #trilobites. Unlike trilobites, concilitergans lacked calcified exoskeletons, so their remains only fossilized under exceptional conditions—like those in the 508-million-year-old #BurgessShale of Canada, where even soft tissues like guts, legs, and gills were preserved."

#paleontology #fossils #Cambrian #Helmetia #HelmetiaExpansa #arthropods

An article published in the "Journal of Systematic PalaeontologyJournal of Systematic Palaeontology" reports a study of Helmetia expansa, a species of arthropod that lived about 505 million years ago, in the Middle Cambrian period. Sarah Losso, Jean-Bernard Caron, and Javier Ortega-Hernández examined the fossils discovered over the years.

https://english.netmassimo.com/2025/04/09/an-accurate-description-of-helmetia-expansa-fossils-over-a-century-after-their-discovery/