A discovery in the Australian desert has given us new clues into the evolution of complex animal life, dating back more than 500 million years | The fossils of the Quaestio simpsonorum also show clear left-right asymmetry, concrete evidence of when complex lifeforms took shape on Earth.

https://newatlas.com/biology/fossil-quaestio-evolution/

3 Comments

  1. From the article: This [fossil find](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ede.12491) is significant, as the preservation of soft-bodied marine animals from the Ediacaran period – which spanned 635 to 538 million years ago – is incredibly rare, and of the 100 or so species we know of, this mobile, round marine animal confirms the evolution of bilateral symmetry, which is a hallmark of most flora and fauna that exists on the planet today.

    The animal is a little smaller than the size of your palm and has a question-mark shape in the middle of its body that distinguishes between the left and right side,” said Scott Evans, assistant professor of geology at Florida State University. “There aren’t other fossils from this time that have shown this type of organization so definitively. This is especially interesting as this is also one of the first animals that was capable of moving on its own.”

  2. MemberOfInternet1 on

    >“What is really exciting about this fossil is that it’s basically bilaterally symmetrical, which means its right side mirrors its left side, but then it has an asymmetrical element that forms the shape of a backwards question mark,” …

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    >… A number of other such asymmetries are found throughout the animal kingdom – this appears to be one of the first organisms to organise itself in that way.”

    This is particularly interesting because of how relatively early into more complex life it is. All knowledge we can derive from discoveries dating that far back is tremendously useful.

  3. SpiritualScumlord on

    The aliens left a “?” in the genetic code when they left their lower lifeform printing machine on autopilot.