Ancient steroids establish the Ediacaran fossil Dickinsonia as one of the earliest animals.
Science
; 361(6408): 1246-1249, 2018 09 21.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30237355
ABSTRACT
The enigmatic Ediacara biota (571 million to 541 million years ago) represents the first macroscopic complex organisms in the geological record and may hold the key to our understanding of the origin of animals. Ediacaran macrofossils are as "strange as life on another planet" and have evaded taxonomic classification, with interpretations ranging from marine animals or giant single-celled protists to terrestrial lichens. Here, we show that lipid biomarkers extracted from organically preserved Ediacaran macrofossils unambiguously clarify their phylogeny. Dickinsonia and its relatives solely produced cholesteroids, a hallmark of animals. Our results make these iconic members of the Ediacara biota the oldest confirmed macroscopic animals in the rock record, indicating that the appearance of the Ediacara biota was indeed a prelude to the Cambrian explosion of animal life.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Fósiles
/
Invertebrados
Límite:
Animals
País/Región como asunto:
Asia
/
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Science
Año:
2018
Tipo del documento:
Article