Annelida is an ecologically and morphologically diverse phylum within the Lophotrochozoa
whose members occupy a wide range of environments and show diverse life styles. The …

Biomineralized skeletons are widespread in animals, and their origins can be traced to the
latest Ediacaran or early Cambrian fossil record, in virtually all animal groups. The origin of …

Clitellata is a major clade of Annelida comprising nearly all freshwater and terrestrial
annelids as well as several marine species. We investigated clitellate phylogenetic …

The trace-fossil record provides a wealth of information to track the rise and early evolution
of animals. It comprises the activity of both hard-and soft-bodied organisms, is continuous …

Recent fossil discoveries from the lower Cambrian Emu Bay Shale (EBS) on Kangaroo
Island, South Australia, have provided critical insights into the tempo of the Cambrian …

Environmental fluctuations in redox may reinforce rather than hinder evolutionary transitions,
such that variability in near‐surface oceanic oxygenation can promote morphological …

Background Although diet is believed to be a major factor underlying the evolution of venom,
few comparative studies examine both venom composition and diet across a radiation of …

The fossil record of the terminal Ediacaran Period is typified by the iconic index fossil
Cloudina and its relatives. These tube-dwellers are presumed to be primitive metazoans, but …

Ediacaran trace fossils provide key paleontological evidence for the evolution of early
animals and their behaviors. Thus far, however, this fossil record has been limited to simple …

The mitochondrial genomes of Bilateria are relatively conserved in their protein-coding,
rRNA, and tRNA gene complement, but the order of these genes can range from very …