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"path": "/releases/2026/04/260415011643.htm",
"publishedAt": "2026-04-15T02:02:43.000Z",
"site": "https://www.sciencedaily.com",
"textContent": "A rare fossil discovery is shedding light on the “missing years” of early sponge evolution. Scientists found a 550-million-year-old sponge that likely lacked hard skeletal parts, explaining why earlier fossils are so scarce. This supports the idea that the earliest sponges were soft-bodied and rarely preserved. The finding changes how researchers hunt for the origins of animal life.",
"title": "Scientists just solved a 160-million-year fossil mystery “I’ve never seen anything like it”"
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