Biology:Bicellum
Bicellum is a genus of fossil holozoans containing the single species Bicellum brasieri.[1] It is one billion years old and could be the oldest example of complex multicellularity in the evolutionary lineage leading to the animals,[2][3] and has been described as bridging "the gap between the very first living creatures — single-celled organisms — and more complex multicellular life."[4] It was discovered in 2021, and is posthumously named after the late Martin Brasier, a paleontologist who was a co-author of the paper that first described it.[5]
Fossil site
Bicellum was found in sediments from the Diabaig Formation in Loch Torridon, Scotland. The Diabaig Formation, considered to represent an ancient lake deposit,[6] was already known to preserve the first non-marine eukaryotes.[7]
References
- ↑ Strother, Paul K.; Brasier, Martin D.; Wacey, David; Timpe, Leslie; Saunders, Martin; Wellman, Charles H. (April 2021). "A possible billion-year-old holozoan with differentiated multicellularity". Current Biology 31 (12): 2658–2665.e2. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.051. PMID 33852871. Bibcode: 2021CBio...31E2658S.
- ↑ "Finding the 'missing link'". BC News (Boston College). June 2021. https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/bcnews/science-tech-and-health/biology-and-genetics/microfossil-reveals-missing-link-in-animal-evolution.html.
- ↑ "Billion-year-old fossil found preserved in Torridon rocks". BBC News. 29 April 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-56917272.
- ↑ Weisberg, Mindy (2021-05-06). "Fossil 'balls' are 1 billion years old and could be Earth's oldest known multicellular life" (in en). https://www.livescience.com/billion-year-old-fossil-animal-evolution.html.
- ↑ "Billion-Year-Old Scottish Fossil Could Be The Oldest Proto-Animal Ever Found". IFLScience. 30 April 2021. https://www.iflscience.com/billion-year-old-scottish-fossil-could-be-the-oldest-protoanimal-ever-found-59564.
- ↑ Stewart, A. D. (2002). The Later Proterozoic Torridonian Rocks of Scotland: their Sedimentology, Geochemistry and Origin. London: the Geological Society. pp. 1–136. ISBN 1-86239-103-3.
- ↑ Strother, Paul K.; Battison, Leila; Brasier, Martin D.; Wellman, Charles H. (May 2011). "Earth's earliest non-marine eukaryotes" (in en). Nature 473 (7348): 505–509. doi:10.1038/nature09943. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 21490597. Bibcode: 2011Natur.473..505S. https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09943.
Wikidata ☰ Q106730787 entry
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