University of Bath researchers investigated the different evolutionary branches of the crustacean family tree seeking examples in which animals evolved that were simpler than their ancestors.

Instead they found organisms with increasingly more complex structures and features, suggesting there is some mechanism driving change in this direction.

"If you start with the simplest possible animal body, then there's only one direction to evolve in -- you have to become more complex," said Matthew Wills of the University of Bath. "Sooner or later, however, you reach a level of complexity where it's possible to go backwards and become simpler again.

"What's astonishing," he said, "is that hardly any crustaceans have taken this backwards route. Instead, almost all branches have evolved in the same direction, becoming more complex in parallel. This is the nearest thing to a pervasive evolutionary rule that's been found."

The study that included Sarah Adamowicz of Canada's University of Waterloo and Andy Purvis from Imperial College London appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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