Fossil Shrimp Brains Look Modern | The Institute for Creation Research

Fossil Shrimp Brains Look Modern

Cambrian rocks are supposed to represent a time about 500 million years ago when ancient muds buried some of the first creatures that evolved on Earth. Today's array of life forms supposedly emerged from those "simpler" beginnings. But intriguing Cambrian discoveries, including newly described arthropod fossils from China, keep clashing with these out-of-touch ideas.

These unique fossils, described in an upcoming edition of Current Biology, show flattened traces of the ancient marine animals' brains.1

The research team published a similar report in Nature in 2012, but it showed only one shrimp-like arthropod from Cambrian Chinese rocks called the Chengjiang Shales.2 This new report compares that sample with several more brain shapes, all from the same animal kind.

Paleontologists did not readily accept the Cambrian preserved brain, balking at the idea that shrimp brains could preserve so well as to last hundreds of millions of years. This new report attempted to address that well-founded skepticism, in part by showing more fossils.

The new report also analyzed the former brain material. It seems that thin black or yellow smudges preserved these ancient arthropod brain shapes. The Current Biology study authors found that some preserved brains represented decayed, black-carbon smears and others were yellowish pyrite—also known as fool's gold. The team suggested that ancient anoxic bacteria could have reduced nearby sulfate to iron sulfide, which stayed on as pyrite. Some fossils showed mixtures of both carbon and pyrite.

But in the process of describing how Cambrian brain matter was possibly preserved, the team noted details that don't fit the sweeping story of evolution. First, these fossils looked like squashed shrimp—modern squashed shrimp. 500 million years of mutations and natural selection should have left some kind of sign, like newer, fewer, bluer legs or bigger brains, but these familiar body forms look like God created them as shrimp from the beginning.

Also, the Cambrian shrimp brains had the same shapes, lobes, and connections as today's shrimp and other decapod crustaceans: They appear fully-formed, completely equipped for shrimp life, and in effect totally modernized right from the start. The same can be said for Cambrian hagfish.3

News coverage from Gizmodo on how these shrimp brains were buried offered, "An underwater mudslide could do the trick, burying the shrimp alive and then preserving them—and their brains—for posterity."4 The Current Biology study authors pointed to "rapid entombment" to keep these ancient critters from scavenging animals and oxygen.1

"Underwater mudslides" and "rapid entombment" imply overwhelming catastrophes like those that would accompany a world-destroying Flood. This idea may sound as crazy to a secular thinker as shrimp creation, but it certainly fits the evidence.

References

  1. Ma, X. et al. Preservational Pathways of Corresponding Brains of a Cambrian Euarthropod. Current Biology. Published online on cell.com before print October 29, 2015, accessed November 9, 2015. 
  2. See reference in Thomas, B. Cambrian Creature Had Complicated Brain. Creation Science Update. Posted on icr.org October 26, 2012, accessed November 9, 2015. 
  3. Thomas, B. Cambrian Fossil Intensifies Evolutionary Conundrum. Creation Science Update. Posted on icr.org September 26, 2014, accessed November 9, 2015. 
  4. Smith-Strickland, K. Scientists Have Found Fossilized Brains. Gizmodo. Posted in gizmodo.com November 8, 2015, accessed November 9, 2015. 

*Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on November 19, 2015.

The Latest
CREATION PODCAST
Why Do Animals Hibernate? | The Creation Podcast: Episode 45
The word hibernation is often used in reference to deep sleep, but what is it really? What kinds of creatures hibernate? How does this demonstrate the...

NEWS
Thalattosuchians—Extinct Crocodile Relatives?
The Thalattosuchia are an extinct group of marine crocodylomorphs (a group that includes the crocodiles) that allegedly transitioned from land to water...

NEWS
The Star-Nosed Mole
The star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata) is a fascinating semi-aquatic mammal found in eastern Canada and the United States. Moles (placental mammals)...

NEWS
The Hexagon: An Indication of Order and Design in Nature
In nature, noncoincidental patterns and geometry exist everywhere. But the number six appears to overshadow nature’s mathematical landscape. Whether...

NEWS
Neanderthal Crab Bake
The evolutionary science community said it perfectly in their headlines: “Proof that Neanderthals ate crabs is another 'nail in the coffin'...

CREATION PODCAST
Is There Any Truth to Dragon Legends? | The Creation Podcast:...
Dragons are considered by many to be made-up creatures in fairytales and legends, but our ancestors produced many descriptions and depictions of "dragons,"...

NEWS
Our Sun, Finely Tuned for Life on Earth
Aside from appreciating the splendor of the sun during a beautiful sunrise or sunset, many rarely consider how special, necessary, and finely tuned...

NEWS
March 2023 ICR Wallpaper
"Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; Sing praises on the harp to our God, Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Kids: Auroras
by Lori Fausak and Susan Windsor* You’re never too young to be a creation scientist! Kids, discover fun facts about God’s creation...

ACTS & FACTS
Meet ICR's Donor Relations Department
Meet our Donor Relations team led by Director Charles (Chas) Morse. Their objective is to transform donated resources into Scripture-affirming science...