An evolutionary mystery revolving around an ancient animal was recently solved by a recent study. The specified creatures, known as the bryozoans, had been found in the deepest parts of oceanic bodies for at least 35 million years earlier than first thought. The findings prove that the animals thrived throughout their early life along with major groups of species.
The fossils are confirmed to be older than the initially estimated age. The oldest set of bryozoan remains were previously dated around 480 million years ago, during the Ordovician period. The dating was 50 million years later than the surge of major lineage existence.
Understanding Bryozoans
The bryozoans are actually a colony of small animals called zooids, and according to the latest discovery from Australia and China, the Protomelission gatehousei fossils were not that young in terms of evolutionary age with their distant relatives. The new fossils are estimated to exist at least 500 million years ago.
Natural History Museum's Department of Earth Sciences expert Paul Taylor said in the museum's report that the discovery is essential to the mystery between the encrusting colonies from the Cambrian and the existence of the Protomelission gatehousei. The finding suggests that there are more diversity of the bryozoans in the Cambrian than the first discovered specimens. The initial records present the colony's structure as back-to-back individuals that form a single column upward that water. However, the structure could potentially differ from the primitive sorts of the species.
Bryozoans are colonies that form a large phylum among the biggest groups in the animal kingdom. The group consists of over 6,500 living species, and most are found in water bodies, specifically under the ocean's depths. The colonies are composed of tiny individual invertebrates called zooids. they have a size of less than a millimeter in length and are dominantly uniform in physical structure. The near-microscopic size of the zooids may not fit to the category of animal kingdom members, but they actually have managed to comprise all of their anatomical organs, inducing the muscles, digestive, and reproductive system collectively into their small bodies.
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Unraveling the Evolutionary Mystery of Bryozoans from 35 Million Years Ago
Taylor said that the zooids form bryozoa on rocks and other solid materials that could be found underwater, but some of the species are able to cluster on shells and even seaweeds. The zooids are part of the oceanic food chain and could be a great source of nutrients for other marine creatures such as crabs and fish. Along with their nutritional functions, the bryozoans could also form into the reef-like body to serve as temporary habitats for many underwater species.
But the animals have been considered a pest by some regions, especially in places where marine and fishing enterprise is active. Due to this stigma, the presence of the bryozoans is frequently disregarded or overlooked. The limiting data are also shrouded by the mysterious absence of the animals during the Cambrian explosion, but the recent findings are expected to contribute more to future research regarding their true origin. The study was published in the journal Nature, titled "Fossil evidence unveils an early Cambrian origin for Bryozoa."
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