Bicellum brasieri
(Redirected fromBicellum)
| Bicellum brasieri Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| Multiple specimens ofB. brasieri,such as the holotype (A) | |
Scientific classification
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Amorphea |
| Clade: | Obazoa |
| (unranked): | Opisthokonta |
| (unranked): | Holozoa |
| Genus: | †Bicellum |
| Species: | †B. brasieri
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| Binomial name | |
| †Bicellum brasieri Strotheret al.2021[1]
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Bicellum brasieriis a fossilholozoan.[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 lateMartin Brasier,a paleontologist who was a co-author of the paper that first described it.[5]
Fossil site
[edit]Bicellumwas found in sediments from theDiabaig FormationinLoch Torridon,Scotland. The Diabaig Formation, considered to represent an ancient lake deposit,[6]was already known to preserve the first non-marineeukaryotes.[7]
References
[edit]- ^abStrother, 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.PMID33852871.
- ^"Finding the 'missing link'".BC News.Boston College.June 2021.Retrieved16 February2023.
- ^"Billion-year-old fossil found preserved in Torridon rocks".BBC News.29 April 2021.Retrieved2 May2021.
- ^Weisberg, Mindy (2021-05-06)."Fossil 'balls' are 1 billion years old and could be Earth's oldest known multicellular life".livescience.com.Retrieved2024-04-17.
- ^"Billion-Year-Old Scottish Fossil Could Be The Oldest Proto-Animal Ever Found".IFLScience.30 April 2021.
- ^Stewart, A. D. (2002).The Later Proterozoic Torridonian Rocks of Scotland: their Sedimentology, Geochemistry and Origin.London: the Geological Society. pp. 1–136.ISBN1-86239-103-3.
- ^Strother, Paul K.; Battison, Leila;Brasier, Martin D.;Wellman, Charles H. (May 2011)."Earth's earliest non-marine eukaryotes".Nature.473(7348): 505–509.Bibcode:2011Natur.473..505S.doi:10.1038/nature09943.ISSN1476-4687.PMID21490597.S2CID4418860.