How animals evolved from a single-celled ancestor, transitioning from a unicellular lifestyle
to a coordinated multicellular entity, remains a fascinating question. Key events in this …

Studies in evolutionary biology and biogeography increasingly rely on the estimation of
dated phylogenetic trees using molecular clocks. In turn, the calibration of such clocks is …

A hallmark of metazoan evolution is the emergence of genomic mechanisms that implement
cell-type-specific functions. However, the evolution of metazoan cell types and their …

Abstract Information about the geological timeframe during which animals radiated into their
major subclades is crucial to understanding early animal ecology and evolution …

The origin of flowering plants (angiosperms) was one of the most transformative events in
the history of our planet. Despite considerable interest from multiple research fields …

Biosilicification has driven variation in the global Si cycle over geologic time. The evolution
of different eukaryotic lineages that convert dissolved Si (DSi) into mineralized structures …

The phylogenetic placement of the morphologically simple placozoans is crucial to
understanding the evolution of complex animal traits. Here, we examine the influence of …

Trilobites are often considered exemplary for understanding the Cambrian explosion of
animal life, due to their unsurpassed diversity and abundance. These biomineralized …

Echinoderms are a major group (phylum) of invertebrate animals with a rich fossil record
stretching back to the Cambrian period, approximately 518 million years ago. While all …

The popularity of relaxed clock Bayesian inference of clade origin timings has generated
several recent publications with focal results considerably older than the fossils of the clades …