Francevillian Group Fossil: Difference between revisions
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The '''Francevillian Group Fossil''' is an early, macroscopic organism. They were centimeter-sized highly organized, spatially discrete colonial organisms. Their fossils are found in the west-African country of [[Gabon]] in the [[Palaeoproterozoic]] [[Francevillian B |
The '''Francevillian Group Fossil''' is an early, macroscopic organism. They were centimeter-sized highly organized, spatially discrete colonial organisms. Their fossils are found in the west-African country of [[Gabon]] in the [[Palaeoproterozoic]] [[Francevillian B Formation]], a 2.1-[[Gyr]]-old black shale province.<ref name="albani"/> |
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The organism was 12 cm in size.<ref name="albani"/> Their bodies were flattened disks with a characteristic morphology.<ref name="albani"/> Their margins were scalloped and had radial slits.<ref name="dono">{{cite journal |author1=Donoghue, Philip C. J. |author2=Antcliffe, Jonathan B. |title=Early Life: Origins of multicellularity |journal=Nature |volume=466 |issue=7302 |pages=41–42 |year=2010 |month=July |pmid= 20596008|doi= 10.1038/466041a|url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v466/n7302/abs/466041a.html}}</ref> They have an internal radial fabric.<ref name="dono"/> The geochemistry of the fossil site indicates that they lived under 40 meters of water, and breathed oxygen.<ref name="albani">{{cite journal |author1=El Albani, Abderrazak |author2=Bengtson, Stefan |author3=Canfield, Donald E. |author4=Bekker, Andrey |author5=Macchiarelli, Reberto |title=Large colonial organisms with coordinated growth in oxygenated environments 2.1 Gyr ago |journal=Nature |volume=466 |issue=7302 |pages=100–104 |year=2010 |month=July |pmid=20596019 |doi=10.1038/nature09166 |url=http://www.gzn.uni-erlangen.de/fileadmin/data/pal/PDFs/El_Albani_et_al_10.pdf}}</ref> |
The organism was 12 cm in size.<ref name="albani"/> Their bodies were flattened disks with a characteristic morphology.<ref name="albani"/> Their margins were scalloped and had radial slits.<ref name="dono">{{cite journal |author1=Donoghue, Philip C. J. |author2=Antcliffe, Jonathan B. |title=Early Life: Origins of multicellularity |journal=Nature |volume=466 |issue=7302 |pages=41–42 |year=2010 |month=July |pmid= 20596008|doi= 10.1038/466041a|url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v466/n7302/abs/466041a.html}}</ref> They have an internal radial fabric.<ref name="dono"/> The geochemistry of the fossil site indicates that they lived under 40 meters of water, and breathed oxygen.<ref name="albani">{{cite journal |author1=El Albani, Abderrazak |author2=Bengtson, Stefan |author3=Canfield, Donald E. |author4=Bekker, Andrey |author5=Macchiarelli, Reberto |title=Large colonial organisms with coordinated growth in oxygenated environments 2.1 Gyr ago |journal=Nature |volume=466 |issue=7302 |pages=100–104 |year=2010 |month=July |pmid=20596019 |doi=10.1038/nature09166 |url=http://www.gzn.uni-erlangen.de/fileadmin/data/pal/PDFs/El_Albani_et_al_10.pdf}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 23:34, 21 July 2011
The Francevillian Group Fossil is an early, macroscopic organism. They were centimeter-sized highly organized, spatially discrete colonial organisms. Their fossils are found in the west-African country of Gabon in the Palaeoproterozoic Francevillian B Formation, a 2.1-Gyr-old black shale province.[1]
The organism was 12 cm in size.[1] Their bodies were flattened disks with a characteristic morphology.[1] Their margins were scalloped and had radial slits.[2] They have an internal radial fabric.[2] The geochemistry of the fossil site indicates that they lived under 40 meters of water, and breathed oxygen.[1]
The lead author, Abderrazak El Albani, said, “The discovery is fantastic because it shows the existence of multicellular fauna 1.5 billion years earlier than what we know. … This is important to understand the evolution of life on Earth.”[3][4]
Charles Darwin predicted that fossils would be found in the Precambrian rocks. The discovery of these fossils adds to the Precambrian fossil record, and satisfies his predictions about evolutionary history.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d El Albani, Abderrazak; Bengtson, Stefan; Canfield, Donald E.; Bekker, Andrey; Macchiarelli, Reberto (2010). "Large colonial organisms with coordinated growth in oxygenated environments 2.1 Gyr ago" (PDF). Nature. 466 (7302): 100–104. doi:10.1038/nature09166. PMID 20596019.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b c Donoghue, Philip C. J.; Antcliffe, Jonathan B. (2010). "Early Life: Origins of multicellularity". Nature. 466 (7302): 41–42. doi:10.1038/466041a. PMID 20596008.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Dickey, Gwyneth. "African fossils suggest complex life arose early", Science News, Washington, D.C., Wednesday, June 30th, 2010. Retrieved on 2010-07-02.
- ^ Complex, Multicellular Life from Over Two Billion Years Ago Discovered ScienceDaily (July 1, 2010)
See also
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