[ad_1]
Fossil of Dickinsonia organically preserved from the White Sea region in Russia.
(Australian National University)
It may not have been Indiana Jones who found it, but the "Holy Grail" (fossils) was discovered.
A formerly ungraded creature who lived more than 500 million years ago, considered the "Holy Grail of Paleontology", was eventually identified through fossil fats.
The creature, known as Dickinsonia, was previously found in northwestern Russia near the White Sea. It had not been filed before, until what others recently found Dickinsonia Fossils have shown the presence of organic tissue, allowing researchers to identify cholesterol molecules, described as "a characteristic" of animals.
THE GREEN CRABS OF MUTANT ANGRY DESTROY ALL IN THEIR WAY
"The fossil fat molecules we found prove that animals were large and abundant 558 million years ago, millions of years earlier than expected," Jochen Brocks, an associate professor at the university, said in a statement. ANU.
Brocks added, "Scientists have been fighting for more than 75 years Dickinsonia and other strange fossils of Edicaran biota were: the giant unicellular amoeba, lichen, failed evolutionary experiments or the first animals on Earth. Fossil fat now confirms Dickinsonia as the oldest known animal fossil, solving a decades-old mystery that has been the holy grail of paleontology.
Dickinsonia came from a period known as Ediacaran, which lasted for about 94 million years from the end of the cryogenic period to the early Cambrian 541 Mya period. Like other living creatures of this period, it lacked physical characteristics, such as limbs, organs or even a discernible head.
His body was about 5 feet in length "and was oval-shaped with rib-shaped segments skirting his body," the researchers noted in the statement.
INDIANA MAN WARN LOCAL SITES OF "PREVENTING" Giant Spiders after spotting a 6-inch worker
the Dickinsonia may be the first known animal, but the subject is still under discussion, according to LiveScience.
There is evidence that suggests the existence of sponges 635 million years ago, although the oldest fossilized sponge is only 520 million years old. According to a study done last year, jellyfish could be older, but this study used genetic analysis and not fossil evidence.
The oldest forms of life on Earth are microbes that existed on the planet about 3.95 billion years ago.
"The problem we had to overcome was to find Dickinsonia fossils that have retained organic matter, "said Ilya Bobrovskiy, PhD student at ANU, who discovered the Dickinsonia.
"Most of the rocks containing these fossils, such as those in the Ediacara Hills in Australia, have been subjected to a lot of heat, a lot of pressure and they have been altered – the rocks that paleontologists studied for many decades were stuck. on the question of the true identity of Dickinsonia, "he added.
THE SPIDER WEB GIANT STRETCHES 1,00 FEET THROUGH THE LAGOON: THEY HAVE A 'PARTY'
Bobrovskiy found the fossils among the cliffs of the White Sea, about 200 to 330 feet tall.
As soon as Bobrovskiy showed the discoveries to Brocks, he immediately realized what he had seen, noting that they were changing the deal and that he "immediately understood the meaning ".
The results were published in the scientific journal Science.
Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @Chris_Ciaccia
[ad_2]
Source link
