760m years old, this fossil may be our earliest ancestor
This could be our earliest ancestor, found in Africa
RESEARCHERS at the University of St Andrews have discovered what they think are the remains of our earliest known ancestor.
The scientists were part of an international team to have uncovered what they think is proof of the first animal to have existed on Earth.
The organism appears to have evolved “before, and survived through, the environmental extremes of snowball Earth”.
This implies that the causes and conditions for the evolutionary leap from bacteria to animals “have to be searched for much deeper in time than previously thought”.
The important find, made during geological research in the Namibian desert, could push the emergence of animal life back many tens of millions of years.
St Andrews geologists Dr Tony Prave, Donald Herd and Stuart Allison played a key role in the discovery and documentation of the sponge-like fossils.
Known to be between at least 760 and 550 million years old, they appear to be “hollow globs”, the remains of what could be classed as the stem group organism, the ancestor of all animals.
The discovery of the oldest animal fossil found to date was made by palaeoanthropologist Dr Bob Brain, from South Africa’s Ditsong Museum, along with Dr Prave and Karl-Heinz Hoffmann of the Namibian Geological Survey.
They made the find in Etosha National Park, a huge flat area of land known as “the place of dry water”.
Named Otavia antiqua, the submillimetre-sized fossil is a sponge-like organism that was preserved in ancient marine rocks. It is thought to date to a time when the most extreme climatic changes in Earth’s history – the “snowball Earth” glaciations – occurred, up to 700 million years ago.
Until the discovery, it was thought that the first animals emerged between 600 and 650 million years ago. The findings echo the predictions of the key dates of early life forming by geneticists studying the “molecular clocks” of other species.
Dr Prave, a co-author of the paper, said the tiny creatures were pierced by different-sized openings that were probably used to pass nutrients into their bodies. They also found a “network of internal passageways” thought to be a primitive gut.
He said: “What is remarkable is that this organism appears to have evolved before, and survived through, the environmental extremes of snowball Earth. This implies that the causes and conditions for the evolutionary leap from bacteria to animals have to be searched for much deeper in time than previously thought.”
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Comments
There are 32 comments to this article
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KINGFISHER1
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 02:20 PMI did not think you would take that one Moderator.BIG PROBLEM ,if it is TECHNICALLY ACCURATE!!! It related to your second sentence 29!
KINGFISHER1
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 02:05 PMI think I am authorised to provide the answer to the first sentence of you post 25. As with Loch Ness, the individuals a saw a Flying Boat, and one of them was allowed inside. What do you say when you have seen Star Travel for Real? Walking on the water is easy if there is a sponson,slightly below the water! As for the local Judical Authorites, they would certainly torture,at that time, to find out what was seen inside!
KINGFISHER1
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 01:59 PM29. I tried to post a reply to your 24, 25 , 27 and 29 posts, by way of clarification but the Moderator disallowed. Not sure what caused the problem. I was trying to clarify the Inter Galactic point and the answer to the first sentence of post 25 AT TECHNICAL. You will note 15 was also refused. I understand loon to be term for a male of the species, used in the Moray Firth Area.
flyinngscott
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 07:15 PMYour right ally, its a waste of time.Questions are awkward arent they. All the best, or to quote dave allen "goodnight, and may your god go with you"
allymax
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 07:10 PMflyinn, all the 'man-made' questions are of-course for the human understanding. What we know, is only what we understand; that doesn't mean to say we know everything. We only know what we understand because that's manifest product of our limited capacity as humans. What God knows is everything. Use as much human understanding you have to delve as far back to how things began, were Created, and you'll find God is the Creator; not man.......So, no more questions please, you only waste both our time................What we do know is that we have a spiritual facet to our being; there's nothing on this planet that can make an entity 'spiritual' other than a Creator; God. When you talk of religion, wars, etc, all you are doing is highlighting the domain of Man; this is not God doing all these things, this is Man doping all these things, in the name of God. For instance, religion is only what we believe in; a God, Catholicism, Protestantism, Atheism; I can even put on my census app' that my religion is Jedi-Knight if I want. Forget using the ideal of religion when propounding God; you lose every time. ................Think Spiritually flyinngscott, that's where God is; man is everywhere else, but our Creator made us in His image, in the image of God; male and female. He's talking about His Spirit.
flyinngscott
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 06:44 PMAlly, you wouldnt be here without the oxygen, produced now, and hundreds of millions of years ago by plants. The early earth had very little. How do we know? By looking in ancient rock samples. How can you know your god exists? Because your parents and ancestors believed? Or the man in the funny dress told you? What about the muslims god, does he exist too? In parallel? Vishnu? What about zeus, or odin, or ra?, or what about the african tribe who believe god is a giant and we live in his hair, like nits? All wrong of course, except yours. ================================================== I used to almost envy religious people, for the comfort it gave them. Harmless, but deluded. Now however, with every conflict on the planet having a religious element, its time to say it like it is. Religion is a poison.
allymax
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 05:24 PMDoes air exist?...............Why do we need to disprove what we know to be true?
flyinngscott
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 01:05 PMGibby and ally, ever wondered why He chose to reveal all to illiterate tribesmen, in judea thousands of years ago? Being omnipotent, wouldnt it have made sense to wait 2000 yrs or so, and show up now?He waited 4.5 billion years after the earth formed after all.==================== Faith = conspiracy theorists=He must exsist because you cant disprove it. Doh, loving the logic.
flyinngscott
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 12:14 PM#19, What a load of absolute mince you write. I have a 7 yr old who understands more about the universe that you obviously ever will. Go to the hubble website , and have a look at your painted black canvas.----------------------------------------------- #23 Mentalist, note away loon. You can give your intergalactic masters my name, for probing no doubt. mmm Ever been sectioned? Or are you the harmless variety?
KINGFISHER1
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 10:33 AMInteresting Moderator. Very interesting. The adverse comments by flyinngscott are noted. Do I need medical treatment? Not as far as I am aware. Besides,as I have said elsewhere, MONYKERRGHAY is an agreed Moniker for use posting here. The pending modefration at 15 is agreed,as withheld text. Comments at 20,21, and 22 certainly clarify that certain understandings differ;to put it mildly. Thus the reserved and redacted text which was submitted at 15.The moderator is thus able to see the reserved and redacted text. TECHNICAL? The use ofthe word Earth in th article,immediately highlights the WRONG SCIENCE and WRONG UNDERSTANDING. Yes, I use blocks.Even the stones will talk! Something to do with my advancing years.Short distance to 3 x 20 +10!!!
allymax
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 04:58 AM"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all Spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." ...Ephesians 1;3. allymax.
allymax
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 04:53 AM#19 Gibson NSW; our faith is concomitant with our righteousness; we accept God's declaration of Righteousness, and we witness our (In Christ) Righteousness through our Works. We need 'faith' to understand that all we need to do is accept His Righteousness. Ephesians 4;24. .......We muddle it up; we think we need to 'apply' something, to get something in return; we don't. All we need to do is have 'faith' to accept God's Righteousness. That's what 'faith' is. allymax.
GibsonNSW
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 04:28 AMJim #13. Theres a big invisible war going on in places we cannot see...thus many wars as demons vie for power over men. Demons stir men all the time. 3rd world village people know about these spirit powers. They submit to many of them to their own detriment. Sadly many churches do get into power play. If they follow The Word, it works out better.
GibsonNSW
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 04:23 AMHi Jim #12. Sure God has to come from somewhere. We dont know if from 'within' the Universe...but I think from beyond. Its pretty hard to Create the lot from any place but outside. What is the black when we look up at night? Has to be something? The inside of something. With all of the vacuum inside and all of the forces like gravity it has to have been Created. Looks like a very large sphere with an internal dark wall with lots of lights inside...stars and planets. To know might just be a distraction from the Salvation Message that Jesus' Blood covers our sins if we go to Him. We have to take it in faith that God Created it.
antiparasite
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 03:10 AMComment removed by moderator
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