The 500-million-year-old spiky, microscopic creature with a mouth but no anus caught the attention of scientists.
A group of scientists say they’ve solved an evolutionary mystery involving a 500-million-year-old spiny microscopic creature with a mouth but no anus.
When the species was discovered in 2017, it was reported that the tiny fossil of this “sea monster” could be the earliest known ancestor of man.
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named animal saccorhytus coronariushas been provisionally classified in a group called deuterostome.
Do they represent the primitive ancestors of vertebrate animals? including people.
But a new study now shows that saccharide should be placed in a completely different group from other animals.
A research team in China and the United Kingdom conducted a very detailed radiographic analysis of the creature and concluded that it belonged to the Ecdysozoan group. They are the ancestors of spiders and insects.
One source of this evolutionary confusion was that the animal did not have an anus.
Researcher Emily Carlisle saccharide In detail, he explained to BBC Radio 4’s Inside Science podcast that the subject is still “a bit confusing”.
“Most ecdysozoans have an anus, so why not this one?” she asked.
An “interesting answer”, according to the expert, is that an even older ancestor of this group did not have an anus and saccharide developed later.
“Maybe he lost [o ânus] during evolution itself? maybe he didn’t need it because he would only need one hole in his body to do everything.”
Spine or gill?
The main reason for “repositioning” saccharide In the tree of life, were the holes surrounding the mouth interpreted as gill (or gill) pores on initial examination? an early feature of deuterostomes.
When did scientists look in more detail? Using powerful radiography to closely examine the millimeter-sized creature? they realized that these structures were actually the basis of some broken spines.
Are the scientists studying these fossils trying to group each animal into groups? that works almost like a family tree? It allows you to create a picture to understand where all species came from and how they evolved over time.
“HE saccharide It lived in the sea, its spines near its mouth would keep it in ocean sediments,” explained Carlisle of the University of Bristol in England.
“We hypothesize that he ‘dwelled’ in a strange environment with other animals that looked like some creatures alive today, but were completely alien to us.”
Image: UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
The rocks containing these fossils are still under investigation.
“We can still learn a lot about the environment in which they live,” Carlisle added.
“The more I study paleontology, the more I realize how much is missing. When we think about this creature and the world in which it lives, we are just on the surface. [do conhecimento]”
Picture: P DONOGHU ET AL/UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL
Listen to the Inside Science podcast at BBC Sounds.
source: Noticias
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