In the fossil history of sharks, a unique evolutionary experiment happened much earlier than anyone thought. The largest fishes in the oceans feed on some…
View More Before Giant Plankton-Feeding Sharks, there were Giant Plankton-Feeding Sharks.
Tag: fossil
Fossil Carnivorous Sponge?
In my email several months ago Casey Burns, a field associate with the California Academy of Science, sent me a fantastic find. The photo is…
View More Fossil Carnivorous Sponge?Veins of Water: The Evolution of the Echinoderm Water-Vascular System
Echinoderms are one of the most highly derived groups of animals with many species as significant components of several marine communities. They’re classified by…
View More Veins of Water: The Evolution of the Echinoderm Water-Vascular SystemExtinct life is like a box of chocolates
I celebrated another lap around the sun this weekend, and in honour of that my friend Betty, who lives in Arizona, sent me a rather…
View More Extinct life is like a box of chocolatesCephalopod on Cephalopod Crime
New work in the Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society indicates that ammonites were likely preyed upon beaked squids. The Chamouth Mudstone Formation on the…
View More Cephalopod on Cephalopod CrimeNew Fossil Anemone Reveals Innard Secrets
Continuing its trend as one of the top destinations for out-of-this-world fossil finds, China is yielding yet another piece to the evolutionary jigsaw puzzle. In…
View More New Fossil Anemone Reveals Innard SecretsYicaris – Progenitor of the Crustacea
Finding any new fossil is rare. Finding invertebrate fossils is made even more rare because of the squishy nature of most invertebrates. Sometimes the wandering…
View More Yicaris – Progenitor of the CrustaceaThe Tide Pool: Super Sperm Whales, Extinction Debts, and Vent Conservation
An occasional series where we briefly report 3 new studies and tell you why they are cool! A new report from Lambert et al. reports…
View More The Tide Pool: Super Sperm Whales, Extinction Debts, and Vent ConservationWhat in Darwin’s Name Are Chaetognaths?!
Lynn Margulis classified the Chaetognaths, known as arrow worms, as deuterostomes. Deuterostomy is characterized by several developmental characteristics including radial, indeterminate cleavage, a posterior position…
View More What in Darwin’s Name Are Chaetognaths?!The Tide Pool: New Jelly, Misplaced 6-Gill, Old Ostracods
KAZ – A new occasional series modeled from Ed Yong’s Pocket Science where I will briefly report a few cool studies and tell you why…
View More The Tide Pool: New Jelly, Misplaced 6-Gill, Old Ostracods