Scientists trace early animal life boom

KUNMING — Chinese scientists have discovered well-preserved multicellular animal fossils in Ediacaran strata of eastern Yunnan province, indicating that complex animal communities existed in oceans long before the Cambrian explosion.

The study, carried out by researchers from Yunnan University and the University of Oxford, was recently published online in the journal Science.

Using advanced imaging techniques, the team identified diverse early life forms from numerous soft-bodied fossils, and most importantly, they found large numbers of simple worm-like creatures that are among the first animals with symmetrical bodies.