Over 500 million years ago, the ancestors of a diverse group of animals known as Ecdysozoans existed. This group includes various species of insects, arachnids, and nematode worms. For a long time, ...

Exceptionally preserved fossils from the Ediacaran period challenge what scientists thought was possible in sandstone. In the fossil record, creatures without hard shells or skeletons, such as ...

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Most scientists agree that complex life likely formed during the Ediacaran Period some 600 million years ...

Researchers uncovered compelling evidence that Earth's magnetic field was in a highly unusual state when the macroscopic animals of the Ediacaran Period -- 635 to 541 million years ago -- diversified ...

On April 27, 2023, South Australia’s Nilpena Ediacara National Park opens to the public and provides access to see rare fossils of some of the planet’s earliest known organisms. These organisms are ...

Scientists believe that the Earth is currently in the midst of its sixth major extinction event, but a new study suggests that’s not the case – it may actually be the seventh. Scientists have found ...

A new study by Virginia Tech geobiologists traces the cause of the first known mass extinction of animals to decreased global oxygen availability, leading to the loss of a majority of animals present ...

Earth’s Ediacaran Period, roughly 630 to 540 million years ago, has always been something of a magnetic minefield for scientists. During earlier and later time periods, tectonic plates kept a steady ...

Even without body parts that allowed for movement, new research shows -- for the first time -- that some of Earth's earliest animals managed to be picky about where they lived. Even without body parts ...

University of Rochester researchers studied Earth’s magnetic field during the transformative Ediacaran Period, which spanned from about 635 to 541 million years ago. The research raises questions ...