Researchers at the University of Missouri have discovered rare, fossilized embryos that may provide valuable insight into a time of rapid expansion and diversification among the world's first organisms, according to a release from the school.
Known as the "Cambrian explosion," most of the world's marine invertebrates first appeared in the fossil record during this period. While much of the record is comprised of skeletal structures - which may or may not give researchers an accurate picture of prehistoric organisms - the University of Missouri find includes previously undiscovered soft-tissue fossils, which could help with future interpretations of evolutionary history.
