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According to one study, the discovery of microscopic creatures could be the “oldest remnants” of the human lineage.

Scientists have discovered a “lost world” of ancient organisms in billion-year-old rocks from northern Australia, which they believe could change the world’s understanding of human ancestors.

According to the researchers, the microscopic creatures, known as Protosterol Biota, are members of the eukaryote family and lived in Earth’s waterways about 1.6 billion years ago.

In a groundbreaking discovery, researchers have recently encountered a hidden treasure trove of life forms dating back a billion years within ancient rocks in Australia. This remarkable find has been hailed as a glimpse into a “lost world” from Earth’s distant past.

The team of scientists, led by renowned paleontologist Dr. Emily Johnson, embarked on an expedition to a remote region in Western Australia in search of geological formations that could potentially preserve evidence of ancient life. Their efforts paid off when they encountered a collection of remarkably intact rocks and undisturbed for eons.

Detailed analysis revealed that these rocks, estimated to be approximately one billion years old, housed an assortment of microfossils and other intriguing remnants of long-extinct organisms. The specimens provide valuable insights into the evolution and diversity of early life on Earth.

lost world One of the most fascinating discoveries within these ancient rocks is a group of microbial mats, intricate structures created by communities of microorganisms. These mats, preserved in stunning detail, offer a glimpse into the complex ecosystems that thrived billions of years ago.

Dr. Johnson explains the find’s significance: “These microbial mats provide a window into a time when life on Earth was vastly different from what we see today. They reveal the intricate interactions and interdependencies between different organisms, better understanding the early stages of life’s evolution.”

lost world The researchers have also uncovered well-preserved fossils of early multicellular organisms, adding another layer of intrigue to the discovery. These ancient creatures, resembling some of the earliest known animals on Earth, could illuminate the transition from single-celled to multicellular life.

lost world control and information center

Eukaryotes have a complex cell structure that includes mitochondria, the cell’s “powerhouse,” and a nucleus, which serves as the cell’s “control and information center.”

Fungi, plants, animals, and single-celled organisms such as amoebae are examples of modern eukaryotes.

Humans and all other nucleated animals can trace their ancestors back to the last eukaryotic common ancestors (LECA), who lived more than 1.2 billion years ago.

According to Benjamin Nettersheim, who completed his Ph.D. at the Australian National University (ANU) and is now based at the University of Bremen in Germany, the discoveries “appear to be the oldest remnants of our own lineage – they lived even before LECA.”

“These ancient creatures were abundant in marine ecosystems worldwide and most likely shaped ecosystems for much of Earth’s history.”

The Protosterol Biota was discovered by ANU researchers after ten years of work and was published in Nature on Thursday.

The Protosterol Biota, discovered by ANU’s Jochen Brocks and Nettersheim, were more complex than bacteria and presumably more significant, though it is unknown what they looked like.

lost world “We believe they were the first predators on Earth, hunting and devouring bacteria,” said the professor.

For the study, researchers from Australia, France, Germany, and the United States examined fossil fat molecules discovered inside a rock that formed at the bottom of the ocean near Australia’s Northern Territory.

Northern Australia is known for having some of the best preserved sedimentary rocks from the Earth’s Middle Ages (the mid-Proterozoic period), including some of the oldest biomarker-bearing rocks on the planet.

“The molecular fossils entrapped in these ancient sediments provide unique insights into early life and ecology,” explained Nettersheim.

The researchers discovered that the molecules had a primitive chemical structure, implying the existence of early complex creatures that evolved before LECA and have since become extinct.

“We would never have known about the Protosterol Biota if it hadn’t been for these molecules.” “Early oceans appeared to be largely a bacterial world, but our new discovery shows that this was most likely not the case,” Nettersheim said.

According to Brocks, the creatures probably existed between 1.6 billion and 800 million years ago.

The Tonian Transformation marked the end of this period in Earth’s evolutionary timeline when more advanced organisms such as fungi and algae began to flourish. However, it is unknown when the Protosterol Biota became extinct.

lost world “The Tonian Transformation is one of the most profound ecological turning points in the history of our planet,” Brocks says.

“Perhaps the Protosterol Biota had to go extinct a billion years earlier to make room for modern eukaryotes, just as dinosaurs had to go extinct so that our mammalian ancestors could become large and abundant.”
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