Public Release:  Fossil record reveals elusive jellyfish more than 500 million years old




"The fossil record is full of circular shaped blobs, some of which are jellyfish," said Paulyn Cartwright, KU assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and one of the article's authors. "That's one of the reasons the fossils we describe are so interesting, because you can see a distinct bell-shape, tentacles, muscle scars and possibly even the gonads."




"The fossil record is biased against soft-bodied life forms such as jellyfish, because they leave little behind when they die," Lieberman said. "That means that we are still working to solve the evolutionary development of many soft-bodied animals."




Jen Humphrey
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Citation: Cartwright P, Halgedahl SL, Hendricks JR, Jarrard RD, Marques AC, et al (2007) Exceptionally Preserved Jellyfishes from the Middle Cambrian. PLoS ONE 2(10): e1121. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001121



Related image for press use: (Caption: "Cambrian fossil jellyfish shows similarity to the modern jellyfish (right), Periphylla." Credit: Fossil photo by B. Lieberman. Periphylla photo by Dhugal Lindsay, Copyright JAMSTEC.)

Related image for press use: (Caption: "Cambrian fossil jellyfish shows similarity to the modern jellyfish, Cunina (right)." Fossil photo by B. Lieberman. Cunina photo by K. Raskoff, copyright.)


