368: Updates from the Past and the Future
“One of the mysteries is that Bryozoan fossils are not found in Cambrian times, which would be roughly 500 million years ago. Given their proliferation, why can we not find any fossils that would have traced them back to this Cambrian explosion?”
In today's up to date episode, Adam Bristol is back to highlight three scientific papers that have caught his eye lately. The first two are about our evolutionary history of life on this planet, filling in some of the holes in the fossil record, and making some unexpected discoveries along the way. The third paper has us looking at potential biosecurity concerns in the distant future, which may actually arise earlier than expected given humans' exploration of planets.
In the first paper, Adam is intrigued about gaps in the fossil record, specifically a phylum known as Bryozoa. He explains intriguing details about the Bryozoan fossils and one particular mystery that sticks out. The second paper fast-forwards 300 million years to the Cretaceous Period and details the era of crab revolution, where crabs diversified and many others disappeared. The third paper is about planetary biosecurity, a plea to the space exploration and astrobiology communities not to ignore the longstanding area of invasion biology. From the distant past to the possibly not too distant future, Adam’s got the news for you here today.
Links:
Fossil evidence unveils an early Cambrian origin for Bryozoa
Crab in amber reveals an early colonization of nonmarine environments during the Cretaceous
Protomelission gatehousei from the Cambrian Wirrealpa Limestone, South Australia.