What paleontologists learned from fossils of a 3-eyed predator that lived 500 million years ago
Paleontologists have discovered that a three-eyed sea moth predator lived on Earth half a billion years ago with evidence found in one of the most fossil-rich areas of the world.
The fossils of Mosura fentoni -- a species of arthropod that lived in the Cambrian Period -- were discovered in Burgess Shale in the Canadian Rockies, a region known for its exceptional preservation of fossils, according to a paper published Wednesday in Royal Society Open Science.
The species belongs to a group of arthropods nicknamed "sea moths" that use a flap-like apparatus similar to wings to help them swim, the authors said in a statement. The mechanism gives the species a "vague appearance" to a moth and are distantly related to modern moths, spiders, crabs and millipedes.
MORE: Underwater camera captures elusive tentacled creature 3 miles below ocean surface
The 506 million-year-old fossil is an imprint of a creature that had three eyes, a jaw lined with teeth, sharp claws and abdominal segments lined with gills. However, the specimen is not a fish, the researchers said. It belongs to the radiodont group, an ancient line of sea predators that are now instinct.
"Radiodonts were the first group of arthropods to branch out in the evolutionary tree, so they provide key insight into ancestral traits for the entire group," said Jean-Bernard Caron, curator of invertebrate paleontology at the Royal Ontario Museum, in a statement.
Several of the fossils are so clear that they show details of the specimen's internal anatomy, including parts of the nervous and circulatory systems and digestive tract, Caron said, describing the details as "astounding."
"Very few fossil sites in the world offer this level of insight into soft internal anatomy," Caron said. "We can see traces representing bundles of nerves in the eyes that would have been involved in image processing, just like in living arthropods."
MORE: What scientists learned from a well-preserved fossil of this iconic Jurassic-era species
The species had an open circulatory system that pumped blood into large internal body cavities called lacunae, which were preserved as reflective patches in the fossils.
The new species emphasizes that these early arthropods were already surprisingly diverse and were adapting in a comparable way to their distant modern relatives
Even more surprising than Mosura fentoni's three eyes is a tail-like body made of segments lined with gills on its abdomen -- something never before seen on a radiodont. The researchers compared its rear section to modern arthropods such as insects and horseshoe crabs.
"This is a neat example of evolutionary convergence with modern groups, like horseshoe crabs, woodlice, and insects, which share a batch of segments bearing respiratory organs at the rear of the body,' said Joe Moysiuk, curator of paleontology and geology at the Manitoba Museum and lead author of the study, in a statement.
MORE: Scientists discover 'legless, headless wonder' that predated the dinosaurs
The "intriguing" adaption may be the result of habitat preference of behavioral characteristics of the species that required more efficient respiration, the researchers said.
The Burgess Shale fossil sites, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980, are located within the Yoho and Kootenay National Parks.
Dozens of Mosura fossils have been collected in Burgess Shale in recent decades, according to the paper.
What paleontologists learned from fossils of a 3-eyed predator that lived 500 million years ago originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
12 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Viking's silver treasure, an ancient Korean crown and three more discoveries
The summaries below were drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All linked stories were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists. Throughout history, cultures have left behind a trail of breadcrumbs for archaeologists to follow. New sites and artifacts are found all the time, revealing forgotten secrets of the past. Here are some of the latest discoveries: 1,400-year-old crown — still decorated with insect wings — found in South Korea In Gyeongju, South Korea, archaeologists uncovered a 1,400-year-old crown adorned with jewel beetle wings from the Silla Kingdom. This ornate crown, found in a burial site, is a first-of-its-kind discovery in the region. The crown's intricate decorations, including gold beads and jade pieces, highlight the craftsmanship of the era. | Published May 22 | Read More | Hobbyist studying old map notices odd mark that leads to medieval find in Sweden In Derome, Sweden, a hobby archaeologist discovered the remains of a medieval monastery using an 18th-century map and modern technology. The site, likely dating back to the late 12th century, revealed thick walls and pillar foundations. This find sheds light on the region's monastic history and the Order of Cistercians. | Published May 22 | Read More | Students locate ancient Roman army camp beyond empire's northern border. See it In the Netherlands, university students discovered a rare ancient Roman military camp beyond the empire's northern border. Using computer models and LiDAR surveys, they confirmed the presence of Roman walls and a moat near Hoog Buurlo. | Published May 28 | Read More | Viking-era silver treasures found on farm in Sweden and restored. See them shine In Täby, Sweden, archaeologists unearthed a collection of Viking-era silver treasures, including arm rings, necklaces and coin pendants. The site, occupied for 500 years, also revealed structures from the Viking Age. The silver collection is notable for its size and preservation. | Published May 30 | Read More | Ancient waste shows surprising 'luxury' food item was not only for Roman elite In Pollentia, Mallorca, researchers found evidence of thrushes, a luxury food item, being sold by street vendors in ancient Rome. The discovery in a cesspit challenges the belief that thrushes were exclusive to elite banquets. This find suggests that thrushes were a common part of the urban diet in Roman times. | Published June 3 | Read More | McClatchy News continues to follow the discovery of intriguing archaeological discoveries from around the globe. Check back to see the latest finds.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
Beyond de-extinction and dire wolves, gene editing can help today's endangered species
Have you been hearing about the dire wolf lately? Maybe you saw a massive white wolf on the cover of Time magazine or a photo of 'Game of Thrones' author George R.R. Martin holding a puppy named after a character from his books. The dire wolf, a large, wolflike species that went extinct about 12,000 years ago, has been in the news after biotech company Colossal claimed to have resurrected it using cloning and gene-editing technologies. Colossal calls itself a 'de-extinction' company. The very concept of de-extinction is a lightning rod for criticism. There are broad accusations of playing God or messing with nature, as well as more focused objections that contemporary de-extinction tools create poor imitations rather than truly resurrected species. While the biological and philosophical debates are interesting, the legal ramifications for endangered species conservation are of paramount importance. As a legal scholar with a Ph.D. in wildlife genetics, my work focuses on how we legally define the term 'endangered species.' The use of biotechnology for conservation, whether for de-extinction or genetic augmentation of existing species, promises solutions to otherwise intractable problems. But it needs to work in harmony with both the letter and purpose of the laws governing biodiversity conservation. What did Colossal actually do? Scientists extracted and sequenced DNA from Ice Age-era bones to understand the genetic makeup of the dire wolf. They were able to piece together around 90% of a complete dire wolf genome. While the gray wolf and the dire wolf are separated by a few million years of evolution, they share over 99.5% of their genomes. The scientists scanned the recovered dire wolf sequences for specific genes that they believed were responsible for the physical and ecological differences between dire wolves and other species of canids, including genes related to body size and coat color. CRISPR gene-editing technology allows scientists to make specific changes in the DNA of an organism. The Colossal team used CRISPR to make 20 changes in 14 different genes in a modern gray wolf cell before implanting the embryo into a surrogate mother. While the technology on display is marvelous, what should we call the resulting animals? Some commentators argue that the animals are just modified gray wolves. They point out that it would take far more than 20 edits to bridge the gap left by millions of years of evolution. For instance, that 0.5% of the genome that doesn't match in the two species represents over 12 million base pair differences. More philosophically, perhaps, other skeptics argue that a species is more than a collection of genes devoid of environmental, ecological or evolutionary context. Colossal, on the other hand, maintains that it is in the 'functional de-extinction' game. The company acknowledges it isn't making a perfect dire wolf copy. Instead it wants to recreate something that looks and acts like the dire wolf of old. It prefers the 'if it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's a duck' school of speciation. Disagreements about taxonomy – the science of naming and categorizing living organisms – are as old as the field itself. Biologists are notorious for failing to adopt a single clear definition of 'species,' and there are dozens of competing definitions in the biological literature. Biologists can afford to be flexible and imprecise when the stakes are merely a conversational misunderstanding. Lawyers and policymakers, on the other hand, do not have that luxury. In the United States, the Endangered Species Act is the main tool for protecting biodiversity. To be protected by the act, an organism must be a member of an endangered or threatened species. Some of the most contentious ESA issues are definitional, such as whether the listed species is a valid 'species' and whether individual organisms, especially hybrids, are members of the listed species. Colossal's functional species concept is anathema to the Endangered Species Act. It shrinks the value of a species down to the way it looks or the way it functions. When passing the act, however, Congress made clear that species were to be valued for their 'aesthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, and scientific value to the Nation and its people.' In my view, the myopic focus on function seems to miss the point. Despite its insistence otherwise, Colossal's definitional sleight of hand has opened the door to arguments that people should reduce conservation funding or protections for currently imperiled species. Why spend the money to protect a critter and its habitat when, according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, you can just 'pick your favorite species and call up Colossal'? Biotechnology can provide real conservation benefits for today's endangered species. I suggest gene editing's real value is not in recreating facsimiles of long-extinct species like dire wolves, but instead using it to recover ones in trouble now. Projects, by both Colossal and other groups, are underway around the world to help endangered species develop disease resistance or evolve to tolerate a warmer world. Other projects use gene editing to reintroduce genetic variation into populations where genetic diversity has been lost. For example, Colossal has also announced that it has cloned a red wolf. Unlike the dire wolf, the red wolf is not extinct, though it came extremely close. After decades of conservation efforts, there are about a dozen red wolves in the wild in the reintroduced population in eastern North Carolina, as well as a few hundred red wolves in captivity. The entire population of red wolves, both wild and captive, descends from merely 14 founders of the captive breeding program. This limited heritage means the species has lost a significant amount of the genetic diversity that would help it continue to evolve and adapt. In order to reintroduce some of that missing genetic diversity, you'd need to find genetic material from red wolves outside the managed population. Right now that would require stored tissue samples from animals that lived before the captive breeding program was established or rediscovering a 'lost' population in the wild. Recently, researchers discovered that coyotes along the Texas Gulf Coast possess a sizable percentage of red wolf-derived DNA in their genomes. Hybridization between coyotes and red wolves is both a threat to red wolves and a natural part of their evolutionary history, complicating management. The red wolf genes found within these coyotes do present a possible source of genetic material that biotechnology could harness to help the captive breeding population if the legal hurdles can be managed. This coyote population was Colossal's source for its cloned 'ghost' red wolf. Even this announcement is marred by definitional confusion. Due to its hybrid nature, the animal Colossal cloned is likely not legally considered a red wolf at all. Under the Endangered Species Act, hybrid organisms are typically not protected. So by cloning one of these animals, Colossal likely sidestepped the need for ESA permits. It will almost certainly run into resistance if it attempts to breed these 'ghost wolves' into the current red wolf captive breeding program that has spent decades trying to minimize hybridization. How much to value genetic 'purity' versus genetic diversity in managed species still proves an extraordinarily difficult question, even without the legal uncertainty. Biotechnology could never solve every conservation problem – especially habitat destruction. The ability to make 'functional' copies of a species certainly does not lessen the urgency to respond to biodiversity loss, nor does it reduce human beings' moral culpability. But to adequately respond to the ever-worsening biodiversity crisis, conservationists will need all available tools. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Alex Erwin, Florida International University Read more: If it looks like a dire wolf, is it a dire wolf? How to define a species is a scientific and philosophical question How redefining just one word could strip the Endangered Species Act's ability to protect vital habitat One green sea turtle can contain the equivalent of 10 ping pong balls in plastic Alex Erwin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sobi and Apellis: Aspaveli®/Empaveli® Demonstrates Sustained One-Year Efficacy in Phase 3 Study for Rare Kidney Diseases
STOCKHOLM, June 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Sobi® (STO: SOBI) and Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today presented new data from the open-label period of the Phase 3 VALIANT study, investigating Aspaveli® (pegcetacoplan) for C3 glomerulopathy (C3G) and primary immune complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (IC-MPGN).The data were presented as part of a late-breaking session at the European Renal Association (ERA) Congress. In the VALIANT study, Aspaveli demonstrated a statistically significant 68% proteinuria reduction versus placebo at Week 26, which was sustained at one year. Additionally, patients treated with Aspaveli continued to achieve stabilization of kidney function as measured by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). "The one-year Phase 3 results are very compelling, confirming Aspaveli's sustained benefits across key markers of disease," said Fadi Fakhouri, M.D., PhD, presenting author, co-lead principal investigator for the VALIANT study, and professor of nephrology at CHUV Lausanne, Switzerland. "Given the high risk of kidney failure, treatment efficacy is incredibly important to C3G and primary IC-MPGN patients, many of whom are in the prime of their lives. These data further underscore the potential of Aspaveli to make a meaningful difference for patients." In patients who switched from placebo to Aspaveli at the start of the open-label period, Aspaveli demonstrated a similar magnitude of benefit in proteinuria reduction and stabilization of kidney function. Nils Kinnman, MD, PhD, Head of Medical Affairs and Clinical Development, Sobi said, "The results from the Phase 3 VALIANT study underscore the potential of Aspaveli in addressing the urgent needs of patients living with the kidney diseases C3G and primary IC-MPGN. This study is an example of Sobi's commitment to advance innovative therapies that make a meaningful difference in patients' lives." "These data reinforce the strength of the EMPAVELI efficacy and safety profile across a broad population of patients with C3G and primary IC-MPGN, including adults and adolescents with native and post-transplant kidney disease," said Peter Hillmen, M.B., Ch.B., Ph.D., chief medical advisor, rare disease, Apellis. "With an FDA decision this summer, we look forward to bringing EMPAVELI to patients living with these rare and severe kidney diseases as quickly as possible." EMPAVELI/Aspaveli showed favorable safety and tolerability, consistent with its established profile. There were no new safety signals. Eight presentations highlight substantial clinical advances in rare kidney disease A total of eight presentations, including six on podium, will be highlighted at the meeting. The presentations will showcase clinically meaningful results from the Phase 3 VALIANT study, among other data. Additionally, two abstracts were selected by congress organizers as Top 10 best ERA abstracts. The "Top 10" are deemed significant studies underlining the growing field of clinical research in kidney disease. About C3 Glomerulopathy (C3G) and Primary Immune-Complex Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis (IC-MPGN) C3G and primary IC-MPGN are rare and debilitating kidney diseases that can lead to kidney failure. Excessive C3 deposits are a key marker of disease activity, which can lead to kidney inflammation, damage, and failure. Approximately 50% of people living with C3G and primary IC-MPGN suffer from kidney failure within five to 10 years of diagnosis, requiring a burdensome kidney transplant or lifelong dialysis.1 Additionally, approximately 90% of patients who previously received a kidney transplant will experience disease recurrence.2 The diseases are estimated to affect 5,000 people in the United States and up to 8,000 in Europe.3 About the VALIANT Study The VALIANT Phase 3 study (NCT05067127) is a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, multi-center study designed to evaluate pegcetacoplan efficacy and safety in 124 patients who are 12 years of age and older with C3G or primary IC-MPGN. It is the largest single trial conducted in these populations and the only study to include adolescent and adult patients with native and post-transplant kidneys. Study participants were randomized to receive pegcetacoplan or placebo twice weekly for 26 weeks. Following this 26-week randomized controlled period, patients were able to proceed to a 26-week open-label phase in which all patients received pegcetacoplan. The primary endpoint of the study was the log transformed ratio of urine protein-to-creatinine ratio (UPCR) at Week 26 compared to baseline. About Pegcetacoplan in Rare Diseases Pegcetacoplan is a targeted C3 therapy designed to regulate excessive activation of the complement cascade, a part of the body's immune system, which can lead to the onset and progression of many serious diseases. Pegcetacoplan is under investigation for rare diseases across hematology and nephrology. Pegcetacoplan is approved for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) as EMPAVELI®/Aspaveli® in the United States, European Union, and other countries globally. About the Apellis and Sobi Collaboration Apellis and Sobi have global co-development rights for systemic pegcetacoplan. Sobi has exclusive ex-U.S. commercialization rights for systemic pegcetacoplan, and Apellis has exclusive U.S. commercialization rights for systemic pegcetacoplan and worldwide commercial rights for ophthalmological pegcetacoplan, including for geographic atrophy. About Sobi® Sobi is a global biopharma company unlocking the potential of breakthrough innovations, transforming everyday life for people living with rare diseases. Sobi has approximately 1,900 employees across Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. In 2024, revenue amounted to SEK 26 billion. Sobi's share (STO:SOBI) is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. More about Sobi at and LinkedIn. About Apellis Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a global biopharmaceutical company that combines courageous science and compassion to develop life-changing therapies for some of the most challenging diseases patients face. We ushered in the first new class of complement medicine in 15 years and now have two approved medicines targeting C3. These include the first-ever therapy for geographic atrophy, a leading cause of blindness around the world. We believe we have only begun to unlock the potential of targeting C3 across many serious diseases. For more information, please visit or follow us on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn. Apellis Forward-Looking Statement Apellis Forward-Looking Statement Statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects, as well as any other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding plans to submit applications for regulatory approval for the treatment of patients with C3G and IC-MPGN. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "target," "will," "would" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including whethersystemic pegcetacoplan will receive approval for those indications from the FDA or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies when expected or at all; and any other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of Apellis' Annual Report on Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 28, 2025 and the risks described in other filings that Apellis may make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and Apellis specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Contacts SobiFor details on how to contact the Sobi Investor Relations Team, please click here. For Sobi Media contacts, click here. Contacts Apellis Media:Tracy Vineis,media@ Neil Carnahan, CFA, References 1. C3 glomerulopathy. National Institute of Health, Genetics Home Reference. Accessed November 21, 2019. 2. Tarragón, B, et al. C3 Glomerulopathy Recurs Early after Kidney Transplantation in Serial Biopsies Performed within the First 2 Years after Transplantation. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. August 2024; 19(8)1005-1015. doi: 10.2215/CJN.0000000000000474. 3. Data on file using literature consensus. This information was brought to you by Cision The following files are available for download: Sobi and Apellis Aspaveli Demonstrates Sustained One-Year Efficacy in Phase 3 Study for Rare Kidney Diseases View original content: Sign in to access your portfolio
