[Rockhounds] X-rays reveal tiny half-billion-year-old creature

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

The internal anatomy of a prehistoric creature the size of a poppy seed has
been revealed in “astonishing detail”.

Researchers used powerful X-rays to scan the 520-million-year-old fossil.

The results, published in the journal Nature
<https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07756-8>, reveal its
microscopic blood vessels and nervous system.

It is a peek inside the body of one of the earliest ancestors of modern
insects, spiders and crabs.

Lead researcher Dr Martin Smith said this was a dream fossil, in part
because it was preserved in its larval, or immature, stage - when its body
was still developing.

“Looking at these early stages really is the key to understanding how those
adult [body shapes] are formed - not just through evolution but through
development.

“But larvae are so tiny and fragile, the chances of finding one fossilised
are practically zero – or so I thought.”

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgxqdygpn09o