Spiculogenesis and biomineralization in early sponge animals

Sponge animals likely originated in the Precambrian, but their early spicular fossils are ambiguous. Here, Tang et al. report a new Cambrian sponge taxon with weakly biomineralized spicules and suggest that the poor Precambrian record may reflect the later evolution of biomineralization.

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Qing Tang, Bin Wan, Xunlai Yuan, A. D. Muscente, Shuhai Xiao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2019-07-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11297-4