Lampreys Haven't Changed Much In 360 my

["Richard W. Travsky" <rtravsky@uwyo.edu>]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061025185208.htm

Scientists from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South 
Africa, and the University of Chicago have uncovered a remarkably 
well-preserved fossil lamprey from the Devonian period that reveals 
today's lampreys as "living fossils" since they have remained largely 
unaltered for 360 million years.
...
"This fossil changes how we look at lampreys today," said Coates, 
associate professor of organismal biology and anatomy. "They're very 
ancient, very primitive animals, yet with highly specialized feeding 
habits."

It reveals that the anatomical evolution of lampreys is more conservative 
than scientists thought, Coates added. Although they've gotten slightly 
longer, they specialized early and successfully and thus appeared to have 
stayed much the same for the past 360 million years.
...