Scientists have discovered thousands of rare marine fossils estimated to be about 518 million years old on a river bank in China's Hubei province, media reports said Friday.

The fossils, collectively called the Qingjiang biota, were found near the Danshui River and more than half of them belonged to previously undiscovered species, according to paleontologists who said the findings were "mind-blowing."

Professor Xingliang Zhang from Chinatarget="_blank"'>