A new study pinpoints the age of an ancient multicellular fossil, revealing a key moment in Earth’s history and the evolution of complex life after a global ice age.
Curtin University-led research has pinpointed the age of the world’s oldest fossils of complex multicellular organisms for the first time, marking the beginning of four billion years in Earth’s history when the oceans began to teem with new life forms. It helps me keep track of pivotal moments. Contains only unicellular microorganisms.
Anthony Clarke, a PhD student and lead author in Professor Curtin’s Mineral Systems Timescales Group within the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said that to determine the age of fossils, researchers used a geological order bookmark. He said that a volcanic ash layer was used.
“Situated in the co-ed Cochon Quarry in Wales, home to the richest range of shallow-water marine life in the UK, we use ejecta from ancient volcanoes that covered animals as time markers and fossilized “We were able to precisely date it back 565 million years. That’s 0.1 percent,” Clark said.
“Similar Ediacaran fossils have been found in locations around the world, including Australia, and dating the fossils shows that they are part of an ancient community of organisms that developed as the Earth thawed out of the Ice Age. It turns out.
“These creatures would resemble modern marine life in some ways.” seed It’s like a jellyfish, but in another way it’s strange and unfamiliar. Some look like ferns, others like cabbages, and still others like sea pens. ”
Study co-author Professor Chris Kirkland, also from Curtin University’s Mineral Systems Timescale Group, said the fossil was named after the Ediacaran foothills in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges where it was first discovered and led to its initial discovery. new geological era It was established over a century ago.
“These Welsh fossils appear to be direct parallels to the famous Ediacaran fossils in South Australia,” Professor Kirkland said.
“Fossils containing disc-shaped organisms Aspidella terranovicaintroduces some of the earliest evidence of large-scale multicellular life and marks a transformative moment in Earth’s biological history.
“Ediacaran fossils record life’s response to melting snow from the global Ice Age, demonstrating a deep connection between geological processes and biology.
“Our research highlights the importance of understanding these ancient ecosystems to unravel the mysteries of Earth’s past and shape our understanding of the evolution of life.”
Reference: “U-Pb zircon-rutile dating of Llanginog Inrie, Wales: Constraints on the Ediacaran shallow-water fossil assemblage from eastern Avalonia” Anthony JI Clark, Christopher L. Kirkland, Latha R. Menon, Daniel J. Condon, John・CW Cope, Richard E. Bevins, Stein Glory, January 15, 2024, Journal of the Geological Society.
DOI: 10.1144/jgs2023-081