A 155-million-year-old fossil has been discovered in southern Germany, showcasing a starfish-like creature that is capable of cloning itself. The fossil depicts a brittle star, a relative of starfish, frozen in time as it regenerates half of its body. This new species, named Ophiactis hex, was discovered during a 2018 excavation and is the first of its kind to display six-fold symmetry and clonal fragmentation.
Dr. Ben Thuy, a paleontologist at Luxembourg’s Musée national d’histoire naturelle and co-author of the study, explains that some brittle stars and starfish have an unusual way of reproducing through clonal fragmentation. While the biology of this process is well studied, the evolutionary origin of it is largely unknown. The international team of paleontologists who made this discovery were fortunate to find the fossil of the six-armed brittle star petrified in the process of regenerating one body half.
The discovery of Ophiactis hex provides compelling evidence that clonal fragmentation in star-shaped echinoderms has deep evolutionary roots. It suggests that this reproductive strategy, combined with six-fold symmetry and an epizoic lifestyle, has been established as a means of asexual reproduction in ophiuroids since the Late Jurassic. This groundbreaking find sheds light on the evolutionary history of these fascinating creatures and adds new insights into their reproductive strategies and lifestyle.
