X-ray computed tomography (XCT) studies on Diamond’s I13-2 beamline reveal beautiful ancient structures
A new study led by researchers at Durham University, published in Nature, have uncovered an incredibly rare and detailed fossil, named Youti yuanshi, that gives a peek inside one of the earliest ancestors of modern insects, spiders, crabs and centipedes.
This fossil dates back over 520 million years to the Cambrian period, when the major animal groups we know today were first evolving.
This fossil belongs to a group called the euarthropods, which includes modern insects, spiders and crabs. What makes this fossil so special is that the tiny larva, no bigger than a poppy seed, has its internal organs preserved in exceptional quality.
Using advanced scanning techniques of synchrotron X-ray tomography at Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron science facility, researchers generated 3D images of miniature brain regions, digestive glands, a primitive circulatory system and even traces of the nerves supplying the larva’s simple legs and eyes.
Read more on Diamond website
Image: Side-on view of Youti yuanshi, showing internal organ systems.
Credit: Emma J. Long