What major historical biological event does the study of *Wiwaxia* illuminate regarding animal body plans?
Answer
The evolutionary experimentation that characterized the Cambrian explosion.
*Wiwaxia* is considered a significant fossil because it provides concrete evidence of the intense period of evolutionary experimentation that defined the Cambrian explosion. This time frame was characterized by the rapid testing and refinement of diverse animal body plans, many of which were highly unusual and did not lead to modern phyla. *Wiwaxia*'s unique combination of a soft base and heavy, disorganized dermal armor represents one of these experiments—a successful strategy for survival during its time, but one that ultimately failed to persist across subsequent eras, leaving it as a branching twig on the tree of life.
#Videos
the evolution of wiwaxia
Related Questions
What protected the dorsal side of *Wiwaxia corrugata* against early predators?Where does *Wiwaxia* sit phylogenetically within the Lophotrochozoa superphylum?During which geological period did *Wiwaxia* first appear, appearing approximately 508 million years ago?What characteristic feature allowed *Wiwaxia* to crawl across the soft Cambrian seabed sediments?What ecological role best describes the feeding strategy employed by *Wiwaxia*?What primary functions were hypothesized for the two prominent, anterior tentacles of *Wiwaxia*?How did *Wiwaxia*'s armor structure differ fundamentally from typical mollusks?Where are the famous, exceptionally detailed *Wiwaxia* fossils predominantly discovered?What major historical biological event does the study of *Wiwaxia* illuminate regarding animal body plans?How did *Wiwaxia*'s dermal armor contrast with the exoskeleton strategy of the arthropod *Sidneyia*?