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Half-a-billion-year-old spiny slug fossil reveals origin of molluscs
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</span><a href="/history/palaeontology/">Palaeontology</a></p></nav> <section class="article-container cols-4 md-cols-1 cols-gap-1 padding-bottom-4"> <article class="col col-span-3 post-308821 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-palaeontology category-animals category-biology category-evolution category-history category-marine-life category-nature category-news tag-cambrian-period tag-china tag-fossil tag-mollusc tag-palaeontology"> <header class="rows rows-gap"> <h1 class="entry-title row">Half-a-billion-year-old spiny slug fossil reveals origin of molluscs</h1> <div class="row primary-image has-featured-image " data-featured-image="Shishania-reconstruction.jpg"> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content cols-6 md-cols-1 cols-gap-1 margin-top-1"> <div class="content-left-sidebar cols-1 col"> <section class="contributors md-cols-1 rows-gap"> <div class="row post-date"> <span class="published-date">August 5, 2024</span> </div> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/evrim-yazgin/" class="author row md-hide"> <img src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA0MDAgNDAwIiB3aWR0aD0iNDAwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjQwMCIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjIlMkYwOCUyRlRoZS1TY2llbmNlLUV4Y2hhbmdlLTI0LmpwZyIgZGF0YS13PSI0MDAiIGRhdGEtaD0iNDAwIiBkYXRhLWJpcD0iIj48L3N2Zz4=" data-spai="1" alt="Evrim Yazgin" width="200" /><noscript data-spai="1"><img src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/The-Science-Exchange-24.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Evrim Yazgin" width="200" /></noscript> <div class="bio"> <h3>Evrim Yazgin</h3> <p>Cosmos science journalist</p> </div> </a> <div id="author-name" class="hide"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/evrim-yazgin/" class="bio"> By Evrim Yazgin </a> </div> <div class="favourite__wrapper row cols"> <button class="showDialog simplefavorite-button" aria-label="Favourite button"> </button> </div> </section> </div> <div class="primary-content cols-1 col-span-5 col"> <div class="flexible-content "> <div class="copy"> <p>A new species has been identified from a 514-million-year-old fossil found in China’s southern Yunnan province.</p> <p><em>Shishania aculeata</em> is an ancient slug with a twist. Its fossils reveal that the world’s earliest molluscs were armoured creatures. Unlike the snails of today, however, these early molluscs didn’t have shells.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" width="1200" height="675" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxMjAwIDY3NSIgd2lkdGg9IjEyMDAiIGhlaWdodD0iNjc1IiBkYXRhLXU9IiUyRndwLWNvbnRlbnQlMkZ1cGxvYWRzJTJGMjAyNCUyRjAzJTJGU2hpc2hhbmlhLXJlY29uc3RydWN0aW9uLmpwZyIgZGF0YS13PSIxMjAwIiBkYXRhLWg9IjY3NSIgZGF0YS1iaXA9IiI+PC9zdmc+" data-spai="1" alt="Artist reconstruction of spiny mollusc from 3 different views" class="wp-image-308826" title="half-a-billion-year-old spiny slug fossil reveals origin of molluscs 1"><noscript data-spai="1"><img decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" width="1200" height="675" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Shishania-reconstruction.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Artist reconstruction of spiny mollusc from 3 different views" class="wp-image-308826" srcset="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Shishania-reconstruction.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Shishania-reconstruction-600x338.jpg 600w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Shishania-reconstruction-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Shishania-reconstruction-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" title="half-a-billion-year-old spiny slug fossil reveals origin of molluscs 1"></noscript><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Artist’s reconstruction of Shishania aculeata as it would have appeared in life as viewed from the top, side and bottom (left to right). Credit: M. Cawthorne.</figcaption></figure> <p>Research published in the journal <em>Science</em> shows that <em>S. aculeata </em>was covered in hollow, cone-shaped spines.</p> <p>The spikey cones – called sclerites – were made of chitin, the same material found in the shells of modern crabs and insects.</p> <p><em>S. aculeata</em> were only a few centimetres long. They were flat slugs with soft undersides.</p> <p>Today Mollusca is the second largest invertebrate phylum within the animal kingdom. Species range from octopus and oysters to snails and slugs.</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i0p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <p>This wide variation of shape, size and lifestyle has led scientists to long consider what a hypothetical ancestral mollusc would have been like. Previously, palaeontologists hypothesised that the common ancestor of Molluscs had a single shell like a limpet.</p> <div class="in-content-area related-box-wrapper content-third content-right margin-bottom-1"> <div class="gradient-title">Read More</div> <ul class="related-box article-listing"> <li class="cols"> <div class="article article-post"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/palaeontology/penguin-wing-fossils-zealandia/" class="thumbnail ar-16-9" aria-label="Article link"> <span data-spai-bg-on="1" class="image" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxMjAwIDY3NSIgd2lkdGg9IjEyMDAiIGhlaWdodD0iNjc1IiBkYXRhLXU9Imh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGY29zbW9zbWFnYXppbmUuY29tJTJGd3AtY29udGVudCUyRnVwbG9hZHMlMkYyMDI0JTJGMDMlMkZHZXR0eUltYWdlcy0xNTIzMDI2NjcuanBnIiBkYXRhLXc9IjEyMDAiIGRhdGEtaD0iNjc1IiBkYXRhLWJpcD0iIj48L3N2Zz4=)"></span> </a> <div class="article-content has-very-light-grey-background-color"> <a href="/history/palaeontology/"> <span class="category history-color"> Palaeontology </span> </a> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/palaeontology/penguin-wing-fossils-zealandia/"> <h3>Lost continent crucial in evolution of penguin wings</h3> </a> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <p>“Trying to unravel what the common ancestor of animals as different as a squid and oyster looked like is a major challenge for evolutionary biologists and palaeontologists – one that can’t be solved by studying only species alive today,” says corresponding author Luke Parry from the University of Oxford, UK.</p> <p>“<em>Shishania </em>gives us a unique view into a time in mollusc evolution for which we have very few fossils, informing us that the very earliest mollusc ancestors were armoured spiny slugs, prior to the evolution of the shells that we see in modern snails and clams.”</p> <p>Soft body parts do not fossilise easily, making the <em>S. aculeata </em>specimens difficult to study.</p> <p>“At first I thought that the fossils, which were only about the size of my thumb, were not noticeable, but I saw under a magnifying glass that they seemed strange, spiny, and completely different from any other fossils that I had seen,” explains first author Guangxu Zhang from China’s Yunnan University.</p> <a href="https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/OP59" class="newsletter-cta" data-device="mobile"> <img decoding="async" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMDAgMjUwIiB3aWR0aD0iMzAwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjI1MCIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjQlMkYwMyUyRldlZWtseS1DYXRjaHVwLTMwMHgyNTAtMS5wbmciIGRhdGEtdz0iMzAwIiBkYXRhLWg9IjI1MCIgZGF0YS1iaXA9IiI+PC9zdmc+" data-spai="1" alt="Newsletter" title="half-a-billion-year-old spiny slug fossil reveals origin of molluscs 2"><noscript data-spai="1"><img decoding="async" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Weekly-Catchup-300x250-1.png" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Newsletter" title="half-a-billion-year-old spiny slug fossil reveals origin of molluscs 2"></noscript> </a><div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i1p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <p>The fossils were identified as belonging to an ancient mollusc. Its tiny features were analysed using a variety of techniques including X-ray fluorescence and visible light microscopy.</p> <p>“We found microscopic details inside the conical spines covering the body of <em>Shishania</em> that show how they were secreted in life,” Parry adds. “This sort of information is incredibly rare, even in exceptionally preserved fossils.”</p> <p><em>Shishania</em>’s spines were produced in an internal system of canals less than a hundredth of a millimetre across. The cones would have been secreted at their base by microvilli, groups of cells like a natural 3D printer.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="1080" height="725" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxMDgwIDcyNSIgd2lkdGg9IjEwODAiIGhlaWdodD0iNzI1IiBkYXRhLXU9IiUyRndwLWNvbnRlbnQlMkZ1cGxvYWRzJTJGMjAyNCUyRjAzJTJGSG9sb3R5cGVfc3BpbmVzLmpwZyIgZGF0YS13PSIxMDgwIiBkYXRhLWg9IjcyNSIgZGF0YS1iaXA9IiI+PC9zdmc+" data-spai="1" alt="Fossil of spiny mollusc" class="wp-image-308825" title="half-a-billion-year-old spiny slug fossil reveals origin of molluscs 3"><noscript data-spai="1"><img decoding="async" width="1080" height="725" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Holotype_spines.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Fossil of spiny mollusc" class="wp-image-308825" srcset="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Holotype_spines.jpg 1080w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Holotype_spines-600x403.jpg 600w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Holotype_spines-768x516.jpg 768w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Holotype_spines-300x201.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px" title="half-a-billion-year-old spiny slug fossil reveals origin of molluscs 3"></noscript><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Complete specimen of Shishania aculeata seen from the dorsal (top) side (left). Spines covering the body of Shishania aculeata (right). Credit: G Zhang/L Parry.</figcaption></figure> <p>Such sophisticated secretion systems are shared by <em>Shishania</em> with annelids such as earthworms.</p> <p>Hard parts on today’s molluscs are no longer made of chitin, but calcium carbonate – the main ingredient in chickens’ eggshells. But it appears that these hard mollusc parts had there start with the chitinous spines of molluscs like <em>Shishania</em>.</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i2p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <p>“These animals are very different from one another today and so fossils like <em>Shishania </em>tell us what they looked like deep in the past, soon after they had diverged from common ancestors,” says Parry.</p> <p><em>Shishania</em> appeared early in the <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/palaeontology/cambrian-explosion-was-a-hot-event/">Cambrian period</a> (539–484 million years ago). The Cambrian saw an evolutionary “explosion” of life and the emergence of all the basic body plans of animals we see today.</p> <p> “Molluscs today are extraordinarily disparate and they <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/palaeontology/cambrian-fossil-molluscs-australia/">diversified very quickly during the Cambrian explosion</a>, meaning that we struggle to piece together their early evolutionary history,” says co-author Jakob Vinther from the UK’s University of Bristol.</p> <p>“This new discovery highlights the treasure trove of early animal fossils that are preserved in the Cambrian rocks of Yunnan Province,” adds co-author Xiaoya Ma from both Yunnan University and the University of Exeter in the UK. “Soft bodied molluscs have a very limited fossil record, and so these very rare discoveries tell us a great deal about these diverse animals.”</p> <div style><a href="https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/O5bE"><p align="center"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-198773" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA3MjggMjI1IiB3aWR0aD0iNzI4IiBoZWlnaHQ9IjIyNSIgZGF0YS11PSJodHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRmNvc21vc21hZ2F6aW5lLmNvbSUyRndwLWNvbnRlbnQlMkZ1cGxvYWRzJTJGMjAyNCUyRjAzJTJGRGFpbHktRG9zZS1OZXdzbGV0dGVyX0Nvc21vc19FbWJlZF83Mjh4MjI1LmpwZyIgZGF0YS13PSI3MjgiIGRhdGEtaD0iMjI1IiBkYXRhLWJpcD0iIj48L3N2Zz4=" data-spai="1" alt="Sign up to our weekly newsletter" width="600" height="154" title="half-a-billion-year-old spiny slug fossil reveals origin of molluscs 4"><noscript data-spai="1"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-198773" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Daily-Dose-Newsletter_Cosmos_Embed_728x225.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Sign up to our weekly newsletter" width="600" height="154" title="half-a-billion-year-old spiny slug fossil reveals origin of molluscs 4"></noscript></p></a></div> <!-- Start of tracking content syndication. 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