Become a fan of Slashdot on Facebook

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
China Earth Science

520-Million-Year-Old Arthropod May Have Had the First Modern Brain 60

An anonymous reader writes "Scientists say that the recently discovered 520 million year old insect brain, the oldest brain ever discovered in an arthropod, is surprisingly complex for its age, and may be the earliest example on record of a modern brain structure. Hailed as a 'transformative discovery,' researchers said that the 3-inch-long fossilized extinct arthropod found in Yunnan Province, China, shows that insects evolved to have complex brains significantly earlier than previously thought. Researchers said that the fossilized brain, which looks very similar to brains of modern insects, may provide a missing link that offers new insight on the evolutionary history of arthropods, a group of invertebrates that includes insects, spiders and crustaceans."
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

520-Million-Year-Old Arthropod May Have Had the First Modern Brain

Comments Filter:

"What man has done, man can aspire to do." -- Jerry Pournelle, about space flight

Working...