An international team of scientists has completed a new analysis of the anatomy of a worm larva fossil that lived 520 million years ago, during the incredibly remote Cambrian Period (540 to 485 million years ago). This exceptionally rare specimen comes from a long-extinct species of eurarthropod (primitive arthropod) known as Youti yuanshi, and it is one of the earliest ancestors of modern arthropods (insects, spiders, centipedes, and crabs) ever discovered. The larva’s unique anatomical features, which have been miraculously preserved despite the immense passage of time, offer scientists an unprecedented glimpse into the remote evolutionary history of the Earth’s most common category of animal life. Tiny Specimen Packed With Data This minute specimen is no bigger than a flower seed. Yet the Y. yuanshi fossil was successfully recovered from inside a rock formation in a virtually intact state. The latest analysis has revealed the intimate details of its interior and exterior structures, which has allowed scientists to identify it as a clear forerunner of the modern arthropod family. Read moreSection: NewsEvolution & Human OriginsRead Later