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Researchers discover a global family tree for ancient fossil found in Canada

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A prickly worm that turns out to have "legs" is shown in an animation still from the Burgess Shale website.A walking worm that lived in Canada 505 million years ago is not quite as unique as once believed.Researchers in Canada and the United Kingdom have discovered the strange fossil first found in Yoho National Park more than a century ago had relatives around the world. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO

VANCOUVER – A walking worm that lived in Canada 505 million years ago is not quite as unique as once believed.

Researchers in Canada and the United Kingdom have discovered the strange fossil first found in Yoho National Park more than a century ago had relatives around the world.

In an article published today, the team says the Hallicigenia sparsa was part of a group of animals that once lived on the sea floor from Canada to China, the U.K. to Australia.

The fossil was found in the Burgess Shale in the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia — a UNESCO World Heritage site because of its incredible fossil beds.

The study by researchers from the Royal Ontario Museum, the Universtiy of Toronto, Parks Canada and the University of Cambridge says the ancient worm has a modern-day cousin in the velvet worm that lives in jungles around the world.

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The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press is Canada's trusted news source and leader in providing real-time, bilingual multimedia stories across print, broadcast and digital platforms.

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