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Open AccessFossil evidence unveils an early Cambrian origin for Bryozoa
Bryozoans (also known as ectoprocts or moss animals) are aquatic, dominantly sessile, filter-feeding lophophorates that construct an organic or calcareous modular colonial (clonal) exoskeleton1–3. The presence of...
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Article
Open AccessAn encrusting kleptoparasite-host interaction from the early Cambrian
Parasite–host systems are pervasive in nature but are extremely difficult to convincingly identify in the fossil record. Here we report quantitative evidence of parasitism in the form of a unique, enduring lif...
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Article
Open AccessReply to ‘Re-evaluating the phylogenetic position of the enigmatic early Cambrian deuterostome Yanjiahella’
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Article
Open AccessIsotopic evidence for temperate oceans during the Cambrian Explosion
The Cambrian Explosion was a key event in the evolution of life on Earth. This event took place at a time when sea surface temperatures have been proposed to reach about 60 °C. Such high temperatures are clear...
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Article
Open AccessA stem group echinoderm from the basal Cambrian of China and the origins of Ambulacraria
Deuterostomes are a morphologically disparate clade, encompassing the chordates (including vertebrates), the hemichordates (the vermiform enteropneusts and the colonial tube-dwelling pterobranchs) and the echi...
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Article
Open AccessA sclerite-bearing stem group entoproct from the early Cambrian and its implications
The Lophotrochozoa includes disparate tentacle-bearing sessile protostome animals, which apparently appeared in the Cambrian explosion, but lack an uncontested fossil record. Here we describe abundant well pre...