Over 500 million years old fossil trove unearthed in China

Scientists in China have discovered a "stunning" trove of well-preserved thousands of fossils estimated to be about 518 million years old on a river bank in the country's central Hubei province.

The fossils are particularly unusual because the soft body tissue of many creatures, including their skin, eyes, and internal organs, have been "exquisitely" well preserved.

Palaeontologists have called the findings "mind-blowing" - especially because more than half the fossils are previously undiscovered species, the BBC reported.

The fossils, known as the Qingjiang biota, were collected near Danshui river in Hubei province.

More than 20,000 specimens were collected, and a total of 4,351 have been analysed so far, including worms, jellyfish, sea anemones and algae.

They will become a "very important source in the study of the early origins of creatures", one of the fieldwork leaders, Prof Xingliang Zhang from China's Northwest University, told the BBC.

The discovery is particularly remarkable because "the majority of creatures are soft-bodied organisms like jellyfish and worms that normally stand no chance of becoming fossilised", Prof Robert Gaines, a geologist who also took part in the study, said.

The majority of fossils tend to be of hard-bodied animals, as harder substances, like bones, are less likely to rot and decompose.

The Qingjiang biota must have been "rapidly buried in sediment" due to a storm, in order for soft tissues to be so well preserved, Prof Zhang said.

Scientists are especially excited by the jellyfish and sea anemone fossils, which Prof Gaines described as "unlike anything I have ever seen. Their sheer abundance and their diversity of forms is stunning."
"It blew my mind - as a palaeontologist I never thought I'd get to witness the discovery of such an incredible site. For the first time we're seeing preservation of jellyfish - [when] you think of jellyfish today, they're so soft-bodied, so delicate, but they're preserved unbelievably well at this site."