Researchers discover a fossil that may boast some of the oldest muscle tissue on Earth.
The 560 million-year-old fossil was discovered in Newfoundland Canada. Researchers believed it is a cnidarian; which is a groups containing modern corals, sea anemones, and jellyfish," the University of Cambridge reported.
In the past the spread of evolution in animals has been viewed as having begun during the Cambiran Explosion, a period of rapid development starting about 541 million years ago.
"However, in recent decades, discoveries of preserved trackways and chemical evidence in older rocks, as well as molecular comparisons, have indirectly suggested that animals may have a much earlier origin than previously thought," said Alex Liu of Cambridge's Department of Earth Sciences, lead author of the paper.
Animals are now widely believed have been present before the Cambrian Explosion, but few fossils have been found in older rocks to back this up.
"Instead, we study aspects of their ecology, feeding or reproduction, in order to understand what they might have been," Liu said.
The newly-discovered fossil, dubbed Haootia quadriformis, is believed to be from the Ediacaran Period between 635 and 541 million years ago. The ancient fossil contains bundles of fibers in a four-fold symmetrical arrangement; this body plan is often observed in modern day cnidarians.
The researchers determined the similarities between Haootia quadriformis and other cnidarians throughout history suggest the animal belonged to the family of species. The finding represents one of the oldest fossils to show evidence of muscle tissue anywhere in the world.
"The evolution of muscular animals, in possession of muscle tissues that enabled them to precisely control their movements, paved the way for the exploration of a vast range of feeding strategies, environments, and ecological niches, allowing animals to become the dominant force in global ecosystems," said Liu.
The findings were published Aug. 27 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
