News Finding: "In this study we've estimated that rates of both morphological and genetic evolution during the Cambrian explosion were five times faster than today - quite rapid, but perfectly consistent with Darwin's theory of evolution."
Paper Finding: Panarthropods are unlikely to be younger than 542 Ma (when there are already putative arthropod trace fossils; Table S1 ) or older than 650 Ma (which exceeds many recent molecular estimates for the age of panarthropods and the age of the oldest fossil evidence not only for arthropods but for any animals ).
News Context: "In this study we've estimated that rates of both morphological and genetic evolution during the Cambrian explosion were five times faster than today - quite rapid, but perfectly consistent with Darwin's theory of evolution." Their modelling showed that moderately accelerated evolution was sufficient to explain the seemingly sudden appearance of many groups of advanced animals in the fossil record during the Cambrian explosion. "It was during this Cambrian period that many of the most familiar traits associated with this group of animals evolved, like a hard exoskeleton, jointed legs, and compound (multi-faceted) eyes that are shared by all arthropods.
Paper Context: Early rates also remain highly elevated if root age is relaxed to 650 Ma, resulting in a ''long fuse,'' where basal arthropod divergences are telescoped across >100 Myr. Panarthropods are unlikely to be younger than 542 Ma (when there are already putative arthropod trace fossils; Table S1 ) or older than 650 Ma (which exceeds many recent molecular estimates for the age of panarthropods and the age of the oldest fossil evidence not only for arthropods but for any animals ). Placing a soft bound on root age reveals that, in order to reduce early Cambrian evolutionary rates to subsequent levels, one has to assume that panarthropods originated w940 Ma (Table S3) .