505-MILLION-YEAR-OLD JELLYFISH – GEOGRAPHY

News: Oldest species of swimming jellyfish discovered in 505m-year-old fossils

 

What's in the news?

       The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Canada has recently announced the discovery of the fossil of the 505-million-year-old jellyfish Burgessomedusa phasmiformis.

 

Burgessomedusa Phasmiformis Jellyfish:

       It is a 505-million-year-old swimming jellyfish found at the Burgess Shale in the Cambrian ecosystem.

       It is the oldest known swimming jellyfish in the fossil record.

       Jellyfish are part of the medusozoans.

       Medusozoans are a group of animals producing medusae and include present-day creatures like box jellies, hydroids, stalked jellyfish, and true jellyfish.

       Medusozoans are part of the ancient animal group called Cnidaria which also contains corals and sea anemones.

       Burgessomedusa is a definitive indication that large, swimming jellyfish with a traditional bell-shaped body had already evolved over 500 million years ago.

 

Burgess Shale diversity:

       The Burgess Shale is found in an area of the Canadian Rocky Mountains known as the Burgess Pass.

       Fossils were found on mountains in the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia.

       It became a World Heritage Site in the early 1980s, famous for the exceptional preservation of soft-bodied fossils.

       That means fossils that don’t have shells or bones and typically don’t get preserved.