A Canadian geologist found one of the earliest fossils. This Sponge fossil may be the first sign of animal life on our planet. Read to know more about the first evidence of animal life.
Sponge fossil: The first sign of animal life
Scientists have always believed that sponges and sponge-like creatures made up the first animals on Earth. Why? Well, sponges lack nerves and muscles but, they have all the simple features of animals. Additionally, they have differentiated cells. Life is believed to have emerged about 3.7 billion years ago but, the early animals came to be much later. Until now, the oldest known sponges dated back to 540 million years ago.
A region in northwestern Canada is full of steep mountains. According to the paper, the region was prehistorically a marine environment. Hence, the remains of the early sponges may be preserved in mineral sediments. Elizabeth Turner, geologists discovered rocks in a remote area of the region. She has been excavating there since the 1980s. Recently, she found 3D structures resembling the modern sponges in thin sections of adjacent rock. The rock layers date back to 890 million years. This makes the sponge fossil about 350 million years older than those previously found.
More on fossils from the early days of the planet
However, there is very little research on fossils as old as this. “I think she’s got a pretty strong case. This is very worthy of publishing. It puts the evidence out there for other people to consider,” said David Bottjer, a paleobiologist from the University of Sothern California. “I believe these are ancient sponges — only this type of organism has this type of network of organic filaments,” said Joachim Reiner a geobiologist at the University of Gottingen in Germany. Reitner is not involved in this research but is an expert in sponges.
“What’s most stunning is the timing. To have discovered sponge fossils from close to 900 million years ago will greatly improve our understanding of early animal evolution,” commented Paco Cardenas, an expert on sponges from Uppsala University in Sweden. “This is the first time that a sponge fossil has been discovered from before the Cambrian, and not only before, but way before — that’s what’s most exciting,” he added.
