Detecting aquatic ancestors of vertebrates

A tiny, non-living little fish more than 500 million years ago is providing extremely important evidence of the origin of vertebrates on Earth.

According to Reuters, researchers at the Royal Ontario Museum (Canada) have published new findings on 100 samples of fossil fish excavated in the Burgess Shale area in North America, with many specimens. Store in good condition and show primitive body structures before the fish evolve to grow jaws.

Metaspriggina is like the ancestor of the spine - (Photo: Reuters)

The most notable fish, the scientific name Metaspriggina , lived about 515 to 500 million years ago in complex life conditions that began to flourish in the Cambrian Century.

Metaspriggina is a non-jawless soft-bodied fish, not larger than the index finger of a person, about 6cm long, small head, flat, two large eyes and small nose follicles.

While there have been two discrete fossils of this species previously excavated, the newly discovered specimens provide many unprecedented details about one of the oldest vertebrate animals in the world.

Creatures like Metaspriggina play an early role in vertebrate animals, followed by fish with jaws, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.

'This allows experts to delve into the origins of all of us, as well as to know the most distant relatives' form , according to museum museum paleontologist Jean-Bernard Caron. in Toronto.