Mollisonia symmetrica: Fossil suggests spiders originated in the sea
What did scientists discover?
An international team of experts led by the University of Arizona in the US, decided to take a closer look at a half-a-billion-year-old marine fossil of an extinct animal called Mollisonia symmetrica.They undertook a detailed analysis of its well-preserved features including its brain and central nervous system. Until now, the creature was thought to be an ancient member of a specific group of arthropods known as chelicerates, which lived during the Cambrian period (around 500 million years ago) and are ancestors to modern-day horseshoe crabs. However, to the team's surprise, they found that the brain structure of the Mollisonia symmetrica was not similar to that of horseshoe crabs, as would be expected.Instead, it had more in common with modern spiders and their relatives.This led scientists to suggest that the first spiders were marine, originating in the ocean.
Professor Nicholas Strausfield, the lead author of the study, said that many questions still remain over how arachnids evolved and moved from the sea to the land."It is still vigorously debated where and when arachnids first appeared and whether these were marine or semi-aquatic like horseshoe crabs."He also suggested what these ancient spiders could have fed on when they first moved on to the land. "We might imagine that a Mollisonia-like arachnid also became adapted to terrestrial life making early insects and millipedes their daily diet," Professor Strausfield added.The team now think that Mollisonia symmetrica could be the ancient ancestor of a wide range of arachnids including spiders and scorpions.
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Telegraph
5 hours ago
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The Sun
5 hours ago
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The Independent
11 hours ago
- The Independent
Krill catch in Antarctica soars to record following collapse of conservation deal
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Underscoring the competition between humans and whales, three humpback whales were found dead or seriously injured last year in the long, cylindrical nets deployed by the vessels to vacuum up the paper-clip sized crustacean. Officials have been negotiating for years a new management plan that would balance the growing market for krill with calls for greater protection of the Antarctic Peninsula, the continent's northernmost point and an area teeming with whales and, increasingly, tourists. Currently, less than 5% of the Southern Ocean is protected — well behind CCAMLR's target and a United Nations goal to preserve 30% of the world's oceans by 2030. But a tentative deal fell apart at last year's CCAMLR meeting over a last minute proposal by the United Kingdom and Australia for an even lower catch limit than the one agreed to during talks, AP reported last year. China, objecting to the persistent Western demands, then withdrew its support for the marine reserve and refused to renew the existing management system. 'The truth was it was the UK,' Matts Johansen, chief executive of Norway's Aker BioMarine, the world's largest supplier of krill-based products, said at the United Nations Oceans conference in June. 'Just a couple days before the vote, the UK threw another suggestion and that's when the Chinese backed off.' A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office rejected that characterization and said the British government continues to push for a krill management strategy that better safeguards Antarctic marine species and vulnerable ecosystems. Catch limit restrictions expire In the absence of a deal, restrictions adopted 15 years ago to spread out the catch limit expired, allowing the krill fleet to essentially fish anywhere at any time, including in smaller habitats preferred by whales and other animals such as penguins and seals. Krill aren't just vital to marine ecosystems. Increasingly, researchers are focusing on their role as a bulwark against climate change. One peer-reviewed study last year found that krill remove from the atmosphere and store in the ocean 20 million tons of carbon annually. That's the equivalent of taking off the road 5 million cars every year. CCAMLR declined to comment on the report obtained by the AP. Ship tracking data analyzed by Global Fishing Watch at the request of the AP also showed a higher concentration of trawling. Activity in one popular fishing ground, denoted Sub-Area 48.1, appears to have more than doubled so far this season compared to the entire 2023-2024 season, according to the the U.S.-based group, which supports sustainable fishing. Javier Arata, the executive director the Association of Responsible Krill harvesting companies, whose members are responsible for 95% of the krill taken from Antarctica, said the catch limit that lapsed was always intended as an interim measure. His group supports the creation of marine protected areas in Antarctica. But it rejects waiting for a conservation deal to adopt 'ready-to-go measures' raising the quota, which he said can be much higher. 'The failure to advance management was political, not scientific,' he said. The current fishing levels, although higher than previous limits, remain sustainable and reflect the consensus recommendation of scientists before last year's deal fell apart, Arata added. — This story was supported by funding from the Walton Family Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. __ Contact AP's global investigative team at Investigative@ or
