ancestor

Flipping a famous fossil reveals our earliest vertebrate ancestor, scientists say | CNN

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Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific developments and more. CNN — An extinct ribbon-like sea creature the size of a human hand was one of the first animals to develop a precursor to a backbone. Scientists recently identified the animal’s nerve cord by using … Read more

Was this sea creature our ancestor? Scientists turn a famous fossil upside down.

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Over the past 500 million years, vertebrates have evolved into a dizzying variety of forms, from hummingbirds to elephants, bullfrogs to hammerhead sharks, not to mention our special species of upright monkeys. But among all that diversity, vertebrates share some important characteristics. We all have a backbone made of, for example, vertebrae, together with a … Read more