The origin of modern eukaryotes is one of the key transitions in life's history, and also one of
the least understood. Although the fossil record provides the most direct view of this process …

The end‐Neoproterozoic transition marked a gradual but permanent shift between distinct
configurations of Earth's biosphere. This interval witnessed the demise of the enigmatic …

Cnidarians are a disparate and ancient phylum, encompassing corals and jellyfish, and
occupy both the pelagic and benthic realms. They have a rich fossil record from the …

The Ediacaran biota were soft-bodied organisms, many with enigmatic phylogenetic
placement and ecology, living in marine environments between 574 and 539 million years …

The driving forces behind the evolution of early metazoans are not well understood, but key
insights into their ecology and evolution can be gained through ecological analyses of the in …

Paraconularia ediacara n. sp., the oldest documented conulariid cnidarian, is described
based on a compressed thin specimen from the terminal Ediacaran Tamengo Formation …

The first animals appear during the late Ediacaran (572 to 541 Ma); an initial diversity
increase was followed reduction in diversity, often interpreted as catastrophic mass …

Late Ediacaran strata from Newfoundland, Canada (~ 574–560 Ma) document near-census
palaeocommunities of some of the earliest metazoans. Such preservation enables …

The timing of the first appearance of animals is of crucial importance for understanding the
evolution of life on Earth. Although the fossil record places the earliest metazoans at 572 …

Animals originated in the oceans and evolved there for hundreds of millions of years before
adapting to terrestrial environments. Today, oceans cover more than two-thirds of Earth and …