Like many other echinoderms, brittle stars can regrow body parts. In addition, some species have the ability to reproduce asexually (fissipary). The animal divides and two new organisms emerge from the body halves: clones.
A team of researchers with Austrian participation now describes a 150-million-year-old fossil of a brittle star that cloned itself shortly before its death. This was discovered in 2018 during excavations in the Nusplinger Plattenkalk in Baden-Württemberg.
In the Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago, an oxygen-poor tropical sea lagoon stretched into the region, in which layer after layer of lime mud was deposited. Numerous animals were locked up here after their death and eventually preserved as detailed fossils.
Inconsistent physique
The fossil of the brittle star – which is less than three centimeters tall with its arms outstretched – shows an incredible level of detail. The striking feature of the brittle star, which was assigned to the genus Ophiactis, which is still represented today, is its inconsistent body structure. While three arms are relatively large and covered in spines, the other three arms are significantly thinner, shorter and less extended, with less pronounced spines.
The arms of different sizes indicate that the animal was regenerating one side of its body at the time of its death.
Asexual reproduction for 150 million years
It is difficult to say when this clonal fragmentation occurred because the ability to regenerate and grow depends on many factors, such as nutrient availability. The animal probably cloned itself at least a few weeks before its death, but it could have taken a few months. In any case, the researchers used the fossil to prove that echinoderms already engaged in this form of asexual reproduction 150 million years ago.
Source: Krone

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