The soft tissue fossil record to elucidate the origin and diversification of vertebrates

脊椎动物的起源和多样化是地球生命史上的一件大事。随着骨等生物矿化硬组织的出现，有颌鱼和无颌鱼的化石记录丰富且研究得很好，但在此之前，我们对软组织的记录有限。软体脊椎动物化石有可能帮助我们了解关键脊椎动物创新的时机，包括生物矿化本身。事实上，一些分类群被解释为在这两种条件之间表现出一种过渡状态。然而，软体类群的化石记录是具有挑战性的；遗骸在保存之前和保存期间都会受到腐烂、坍塌和扭曲的影响。这些挑战导致了一些争议，对于这些重要化石的解剖和亲和力缺乏共识。新的化石发现，加上扫描技术的最新进步和丰富的实验衰变数据，意味着现在有可能为这些以前神秘的分类群和这一重要进化事件的性质提供新的线索。

The origin and diversification of vertebrates is a major event in the history of life on earth. A rich and well studied fossil record of jawed and jawless fishes exists following the advent of biomineralized hard tissues such as bone, but prior to this we are limited the soft tissue record. Soft bodied fossil vertebrates have the potential to help us understand the timing of key vertebrate innovations, including biomineralization itself. Indeed some taxa have been interpreted as exhibiting a kind of transitional state between the two conditions. The fossil record of soft bodied taxa is challenging however; the remains are subjected to decay, collapse, and distortion before and during preservation. These challenges have led to some disputes and a lack of consensus exists over the anatomy and affinity of these important fossils. New fossil discoveries, along with recent advances in scanning technology and a wealth of experimental decay data, means that it is now possible to she new light these previously enigmatic taxa and the nature of this important evolutionary event.