Fossil reveals an ancient arthropod’s nervous system

Ventral nerve cord controlled critter’s many legs

Chengjiangocaris kunmingensis

ROCK STAR  The ancient arthropod Chengjiangocaris kunmingensis looked crustaceanesque with a large head, long body and paired legs — and a ventral nerve cord (dark horizontal line above the legs is part of a preserved cord). 

Jie Yang

The fossilized remains of an about 520-million-year-old creepy-crawly provides a portrait of an ancient arthropod’s nervous system.