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Earliest example of right-handedness found in Australian fossils
CNN • • general
Key Points:
- Spriggina floundersi, a wormlike animal from about 550 million years ago, is identified as the earliest known animal with a head and showed a preference for bending to the right, suggesting an ancient origin of right-handedness.
- Researchers analyzed over 100 fossils from South Australia and found most specimens curved left in fossils, indicating a right-side behavioral preference similar to modern right-handed animals.
- The study concluded Spriggina could move independently on the seafloor, supported by varied orientations and bending in fossils, ruling out environmental forces or post-mortem effects as causes of curvature.
- This discovery implies that directional preference and nervous system control linked to handedness existed in early animal life, setting the evolutionary stage for similar traits in humans and other animals.
- The findings, published in Scientific Reports, were cautiously interpreted by experts and provide new insights into the behavior and anatomy of Ediacaran period animals.
