A team led by Zhang Zhifei at Northwest University has uncovered the earliest evidence of animals growing skeletons under epithelial control, based on Cambrian fossils from northern China. The study, published as a cover article in Geology, reveals polygonal epithelial structures in early sclerite fossils, showing that even primitive animals had the capacity to form mineralized skeletons similar to modern species. (Photo provided to China Youth Daily) 

#CambrianExplosion #FossilDiscovery #Paleontology #Geology #ChinaResearch 

By Li Yue, Lin Xiaojing(intern) and Sun Haihua/China Youth Daily