New Discoveries in Yunnan's Jiangchuan Biota Push Back Vertebrate Origins
Fossils date to 554-539 million years ago, 4 million years before the Cambrian.
Ross Anderson of Oxford co-authored the study in Science, noting Cambrian-like preservation in Ediacaran.
Fossils include six Haootia-like specimens, 56 wormlike fossils, and Herpetogaster-like creatures.
Fossils may represent deuterostomes, pushing vertebrate ancestry to Ediacaran.
Jo Wolfe of Harvard says findings blur Ediacaran and Cambrian boundaries.
Cambrian explosion introduced unprecedented species diversity and new phyla.
Study begins new research phase, possibly revising evolutionary timelines.
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