Scientists discover a new invertebrate species in rare fossil in Gaspé park

A group of scientists has identified a new invertebrate species from a rare fossil found in Gaspésie's Miguasha provincial park. The species is a ctenophore, or comb jelly, a soft-bodied fish that looks like a jellyfish.

"It's a very interesting fossil, and it's revealing a lot of insights about the evolution of life," said Richard Cloutier, a paleontologist and one of the lead researchers. "It's very, very rare that we have that kind of fossil," he added.

This discovery is important because it confirms that comb jellies were among the earliest multicellular animals, giving clues about the origins of complex life forms on the planet, explained the paleontologist who works at the Université du Québec à Rimouski. 

He said it supports the theory that animals evolved either from sponges or comb jellies, because it confirms that the species existed hundreds of millions of years ago, when life forms were at their most primitive.

The six-centimetre fossil was first discovered in 2017 in Miguasha, a site well known for its abundance of prehistoric fish fossils. But the specimen dates back 375 million years, from an era called the Late Devonian.

What makes this specimen unique is that the fish was preserved despite having no bones, teeth or cartilage, Cloutier said.

"Normally what we find in the fossil, it's all the hard parts," explained Cloutier. "Usually when it's a soft-bodied animal, there's nothing that could be preserved."