- Project title
- Three dimensional anatomy of early animals
- Description of the project
- Animals from the time of the Cambrian Explosion show only a subset of characters of their living descendants and shed light on the sequence of morphological evolution in deep time. I would like to acquire microCT data from two fossil groups which have an excellent Cambrian fossil record, but for which there is little consensus about the sequence of change from these ancient animals to the modern – echinoderms (including starfish and sea lillies) and sponges.
If approved, I would study the most ancient echinoderm group known (ctenocystoids) and the archaeocyath sponges to understand their 3D anatomy and establish the polarity of morphological change through time.
Works done by the platform AST-RX
