Tag Archive for 'Molecular clock'

Sea floor in the Ediacaran of Namibia, 543 million years ago. Image credit: Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford / Mighty Fossils.

First Animals May Have Appeared 200 Million Years Earlier than Their Oldest Fossils Suggest

Oct 2, 2026 by News Staff

The oldest undisputed animal fossils, from the Ediacaran biota, are about 574 million years old, but chemical traces left by sponges, known as lipid biomarkers,...

Artistic reconstruction of Beorn leggi (top) and Aerobius dactylus (bottom) in a hypothetical fossilization environment. Image credit: Franz Anthony.

Cretaceous Amber Fossils Shed New Light on Evolutionary Origin of Tardigrades

Aug 23, 2024 by News Staff

Tardigrades are a diverse group of microscopic invertebrates widely known for their extreme survival capabilities. Molecular clocks suggest that tardigrades...

Gloeotrichia echinulata, a colonial species of cyanobacteria. Image credit: Barry Rosen, U.S. Geological Survey.

Oxygenic Photosynthesis and Living Lineages of Cyanobacteria Evolved in Archean Eon, Study Suggests

Sep 30, 2021 by News Staff

Using a new gene-analyzing technique, researchers from MIT and elsewhere have found that all extant species of cyanobacteria can be traced back to a common...

Kampecaris obanensis. Image credit: British Geological Survey.

Paleontologists Find World’s Oldest Fossil Bug

Jun 2, 2020 by News Staff

A 425-million-year-old fossil millipede from Scotland is the oldest-known ‘bug’ (an insect, arachnid or other related creature), according to new research...