Soft and Extremely Tiny Cambrian Creature Defies Belief in Millions of Years

Spinoloricus (Loricifera). Image courtesy of Roberto Danovaro, Antonio Dell'Anno, Antonio Pusceddu, Cristina Gambi, Iben Heiner & Reinhardt Mobjerg Kristensen, Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).




Joel Kontinen

Researchers have recently witnessed a miracle of sorts: they found an extremely tiny Cambrian fossil in western Canada.

The “exceptionally well-preserved” loriciferan is less than a millimetre long. Scientists think that it was far too small to have been fossilised.

Dr Tom Harvey (Department of Geology, University of Leicester) co-discoverer of the fossil explains why the discovery is important:

“Loriciferans lack hard parts (they have no shell), so no-one expected them ever to be found as fossils -- but here they are! The fossils represent a new genus and species, which we name Eolorica deadwoodensis, loosely meaning the ‘ancient corset-animal from rocks of the Deadwood Formation.’ "

The discovery defies belief in millions of years. It should definitely not be possible for soft animals to retain their shape for half a billion years.

For Darwinists, the assumed Cambrian Era is a real headache:

Tardigrades or water bears (that still live in our day), compound eyes and complex brains have been found in Cambrian strata.

Source:

University of Leicester. 2017. Discovery of new fossil from half billion years ago sheds light on life on Earth: Scientists find 'unfossilizable' creature. Science Daily. (30 January).