About 100 species of animals that became extinct 500 million years ago have been discovered in China.

Researchers from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology in China have discovered a well-preserved collection of fossils dating back 512 million years. This discovery allows scientists to take a fresh look at life in the oceans immediately after the first mass extinction on Earth. This was reported on January 28 by NewScientist magazine.

The fossils date back to the Cambrian period, which began 541 million years ago, when there was a dramatic increase in the diversity of life on Earth. However, this process was stopped by the Sin event about 513.5 million years ago, when the oxygen level in the oceans decreased and destroyed several groups of animals.

So far, the researchers have analyzed 8,681 fossils from 153 species, of which almost 60% are new to science. It clarifies that this discovery helps to expand knowledge about how ancient ecosystems existed and how long ago disease and infectious diseases affected animal populations.

The Huayuan biota consists of 16 main groups of animals that presumably lived on the deep ocean floor and were less affected by the Xing event. According to Han Zeng of the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology in China, researchers have learned that the extinction has mostly destroyed the shallow-water environment. Shallow water, in turn, suffered less.

According to the publication, most of the fossils found belong to the arthropod class, and mollusks have also been found. The researchers named the arthropod Guanshancaris kunmingensis as the largest animal. It is assumed that he was a predator.

According to Tsen, such exceptional preservation of the remains lies in the fact that the animals were quickly buried under a layer of fine mud. The soft parts of the animals' bodies are said to have been preserved with indescribable detail, including legs, antennae, tentacles, respiratory organs, as well as eyes, nervous tissues, intestines and pharynx.

Mammoths of truth: scientists have found a new reason for the extinction of ancient giants

How knowledge about the microbes of prehistoric animals will help to revive them

On January 15, Communications Earth & Environment (CEE) magazine reported the discovery of seven mummified cheetahs in caves in northern Saudi Arabia. It turned out that before the extinction, two subspecies of the predator lived on the Arabian Peninsula, and not one, as previously thought.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.