Fossil of Newly Discovered Species Found in Spain

ScienceDaily (Mar. 25, 2010) — In the '80s, Spanish researchers found the first fossils of Cloudina in Spain, a small fossil of tubular appearance and one of the first animals that developed an external skeleton between 550 and 543 million years ago. Now palaeontologists from the University of Extremadura have discovered a new species,Cloudina carinata, the fossil of which has preserved its tridimensional shape.

he discovery of new species of Cloudina is important "for understanding the early evolution of animals," states Cortijo, who adds that "its importance for understanding the origin of skeletons is indisputable." Despite the fact that its relation to other groups of animals is uncertain, Cloudina has been compared to cnidaria (medusas and corals) and annelida (polychaeta sea worms, earthworms and leeches).

According to the research team, the study of fossils from the Ediacaran period (between 630 and 540 million years ago) and of other fossils from the early Cambrian (540 million years ago) reveals the path followed by evolution at a crucial moment in the history of life, when the first animals appeared. This first evolutionary radiation of animals reached its apex in the so-called "great Cambrian explosion" or "Big-Bang of evolution."