An assemblage of more than 700 Ediacaran fossils from the end of the Ediacaran period indicates that key animal groups -- including early relatives of vertebrates -- were already diversifying millions of years earlier than long believed. An assemblage of more than 700 Ediacaran fossils from the end of the Ediacaran period indicates that key animal groups — including early relatives of vertebrates — were already diversifying millions of years earlier than long believed. The burst of a... [3382 chars]