Newly Discovered Fossils of Ancient Lifeform Are 2.2 Billion Years Old
Posted on July 22, 2013
Newly discovered fossils provide evidence for life on Earth 2.2 billion years ago. The fossils are the size of match heads and were discovered in ancient soil from South Africa. The samples were imaged using powerful X-rays of a cyclotron (a particle accelerator) at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.
The researchers believe the fossils are of something that was not a plant or an animal, but resemble a type of modern fungus. The fossils are the size of match heads. They were found connected into bunches by threads in the surface of ancient soil from South Africa.
The study was led by University of Oregon geologist Gregory J. Retallack. They have been named Diskagma buttonii, which means "disc-shaped fragments of Andy Button." An interpretive view of the ancient lifeform is pictured above.
Retallack says in a release, "They certainly were not plants or animals, but something rather more simple." He says they resemble modern soil organisms called Geosiphon, a fungus with a central cavity filled with symbiotic cyanobacteria. The fossil could be the oldest known eukaryote - an organism with cells that contain complex structures, including a nucleus, within membranes.
Retallack says, "At last we have an idea of what life on land looked like in the Precambrian. Perhaps with this search image in mind, we can find more and different kinds of fossils in ancient soils."
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