Dr Tom Harvey from the University of Leicester School of Geography, Geology and the Environment. Credit: THP Harvey
As more specimens came to light, Dr Harvey identified resemblances with modern green algae that live drifting in the plankton of ponds and lakes. He explains: “The fossils have the same sort of colonial structure as the contemporary algae, with cells connecting together, describing their cool, geometric plans. Remarkably, though, the fossil examples resided in the sea, providing an uncommon look of the early marine plankton.”
A Link to the Cambrian Explosion
The importance of the fossils depends on their immense age. They lived around the time when animals were first evolving, during the Cambrian explosion of life– and this is probably no coincidence. In todays world, phytoplankton offers the basic food source for almost all life in the oceans. The modern groups of phytoplankton progressed relatively just recently, and we do not know which groups occupied the Cambrian oceans.
Dr Harvey discusses: “When we look at contemporary plankton, we see that algae establish colonies when animals are attempting to consume them. Its a defense system. So, the presence of colonial algae in the Cambrian Period recommends that early animals were evolving to feed in the plankton, beginning a predator-prey relationship that has continued ever considering that.
” Considering that the plankton underpins life in the oceans, and fossil plankton assists us develop ancient environment models, these little fossils have a big role in telling the history of life on Earth.”
The new discovery will prompt a re-think on other early microfossils. For several years, scientists have thought that the spiny balls discovered individually were the inactive cysts of single-celled life.
For Dr Harvey, the new fossils seriously challenge this view: “I wonder if weve been getting it all incorrect, and in fact great deals of these microfossils were living as nests in the plankton. Its simple to inadvertently separate the fossils as we extract them from the rocks, so all of us need to return to the collections, back to our labs, and find out how typical they actually were.”
Referral: “Colonial green algae in the Cambrian plankton” by Thomas H. P. Harvey, 24 October 2023, Proceedings of the Royal Society B.DOI: 10.1098/ rspb.2023.1882.
Fossil plankton from half a billion years earlier. These small algae procedure much less than a millimetre in size. They developed their colonial structure to prevent being consumed by early animals. Credit: THP Harvey
Microfossils dating back half a billion years have actually been discovered by a researcher from the University of Leicester.
A scientist from the University of Leicester has actually discovered a new kind of fossil that reveals life in the oceans half a billion years back.
The tiny organisms, detailed in a brand-new research study in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, resemble modern-day algae and may likewise offer scientists an insight into the climate changes that impacted our oceans.
The fossils are tiny and look like spiny balls connected together. The research studys author Dr Tom Harvey, from the University of Leicester School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, stated: “When I initially saw them, I had no idea what they were.
Fossil plankton from half a billion years back. The fossils are microscopic and look like spiny balls linked together. He explains: “The fossils have the same sort of colonial structure as the contemporary algae, with cells connecting together, discussing their neat, geometric arrangements. Remarkably, however, the fossil examples lived in the sea, providing an unusual look of the early marine plankton.”
The value of the fossils lies in their enormous age.