Chinese researchers have discovered exceptionally well-preserved bryozoan fossils that provide the first definitive mineralized skeletal evidence for the group's origin in the Early Cambrian, pushing its fossil record back by at least 50 million years.
The findings, made by a research team from the country's Northwest University, were published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.
The fossils were unearthed from the Early Cambrian Xiannvdong Formation in Hanzhong City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. The specimens are exceptionally preserved, retaining both mineralized skeletal structures and soft tissues.
Bryozoans are a major group of colonial aquatic invertebrates that today inhabit marine environments worldwide. Although researchers have long hypothesized that bryozoan ancestors existed during the Cambrian Period, conclusive fossil evidence has been lacking due to the organisms' tiny size and the difficulty of recognizing their fossils.
The newly discovered fossils preserve soft-tissue features, including membranous sacs and ring septa, as well as bryozoan skeletal structures such as zooecia and acanthostyles.
To examine the specimens, the research team employed a range of analytical methods, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray computed tomography.
Using the new fossil evidence, the researchers constructed a matrix comprising 50 morphological characteristics from 18 representative extant and fossil bryozoan genera. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that the Cambrian fossils belong to the class Stenolaemata within the phylum Bryozoa.
The discovery pushes the fossil record of mineralized bryozoans back from the Ordovician Period to the Early Cambrian, extending it by at least 50 million years.
New fossils confirm Early Cambrian origin of bryozoans
For more than 1,000 years, Jingdezhen, the "porcelain capital" in east China's Jiangxi Province, has shaped how the world understands porcelain, with even discarded shards preserving a living tradition.
Weng Yanjun, president of the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Institute, reflected on the scale and challenge behind Jingdezhen's historic creations.
"When I look at this gigantic dragon jar, I couldn't help going back to 600 years ago, when the emperor had this order to create something bigger than ever before. The failure rate of the dragon jar is so high. It could be nine out of 10. Even making failure products like this takes courage, takes techniques and takes commitment," said Weng.
Those failed attempts, once discarded, now preserve the evidence of how Jingdezhen pursued perfection.
For more than 1,000 years, Jingdezhen's porcelain industry has endured through the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (960-1911). What has survived is not only its porcelain, but also a living heritage of raw materials, workshops, kilns and specialized craftsmanship.
Those firings produced masterpieces as well as failures, with the discarded pieces forming another kind of archive.
At the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Institute, Weng told archaeology students that fragmented specimens sometimes provide more information than complete artifacts.
Weng leads the development of the world's first Ancient Ceramics Gene Bank, which extracts and catalogs the defining characteristics of each ceramic shard.
"For our institute alone, we have excavated more than 20 million pieces of shards for the past over 1,200 years. Among those shards, we do sorting, we do restoration, and we do scientific tests. And then we find, wow, a small shard can tell us much more information than even a whole piece," said Weng.
Using a standardized sample library and unified data framework, the project records each piece's shape, decoration, body material, glaze, color, firing marks and inscriptions, creating a valuable resource for authentication and research around the world.
"The whole city is a wonderful lab and space range makes Jingdezhen uniquely a wonderful example of how the handicraft ancient industry with porcelain as the focus survived even to today," Weng added.
Jingdezhen once helped establish benchmarks for how porcelain was made. Now, the gene bank is turning fragments into a language that can be read beyond the city. For French artist and researcher Yann Colleu, learning to read that language has also changed the way he creates.
"Since my childhood, my parents had these teapots, tea sets, plates and cups. I was very curious about the pattern, like the meaning, what was behind it? Actually when I discovered in Jingdezhen that it was a bat, because of 'fu' and 'fu' is fortune, but also you have the 'wufu,' like the five blessings. I was like a child with stars in the eyes, discovering the world for the first time," said Colleu, PhD candidate at Jingdezhen Ceramic University.
What once seemed abstract became part of Yann's own visual language. In his work, traditional Jingdezhen motifs and production scenes are reimagined through a contemporary, cross-cultural lens.
"Jingdezhen is a timeless city. The past, the present and even the future are tied together. This is one of illustration of 72 traditional steps developing during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The difference is, instead of using Chinese characters, I use foreigners. I want to use the past to talk about the present and even the future with Jingdezhen," said Colleu.
The Jingdezhen Handicraft Porcelain Industry Sites were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on Saturday. The inscription recognizes not just a single kiln or masterpiece, but an entire production system, from its archaeological remains and traditional craftsmanship to its industrial knowledge and global influence.
Porcelain shards preserve Jingdezhen’s timeless legacy
