"But larvae are so tiny and fragile, the chances of finding one fossilised are practically zero — or so I thought!" Related: Stunning 3D images show anatomy of 500 million-year-old Cambrian ...

All animal evolution for the last half billion years has come from tinkering with these Cambrian body plans. Then, between about 570 and 530 million years ago, another burst of diversification ...

With its muscular tail, the larva swims about for a few days until ... Arthropods were the most diverse animal group in the Cambrian period and the Ordovician period that followed.