A scan of the Youti yuanshi larva fossil. (Image credit: Yang Jie/Zhang Xiguang) LiveScience has a story about an amazingly preserved Cambrian larva.  A fossilized arthropod from the Yu’anshan rock formation in the Yunnan Province of China reveals critical details of its brain and circulatory system, including traces of nerves serving the larva’s legs and eyes.  This specimen is important as it gives clues to the evolution of the largest animal group, which includes modern arthropods like insects, spiders and crabs.  The description of this amazing fossil were published in the journal Nature. “When I used to daydream about the one fossil I’d most…

An artist’s impression of Enalioetes schroederi. Image credit: Joschua Knüppe. SciNews has a story about the discovery of a new species of ancient marine reptile. Enalioetes schroederi lived during the Cretaceous Period, some 140 to 132 million years ago.  This fossil specimen, which includes a “perfect” skull, was found in the Stadthagen Formation of northwestern Germany about 100 years ago in a quarry near Hannover.  It’s said to be the best preserved metriorhynchid crocodylomorph known from the Cretaceous period.  The description was published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. “The specimen is remarkable as it is one very few metriorhynchids that is…