Xinhua News Agency reported that archaeologists have identified four species from ice fossils that lived on the ocean floor 550 million years ago, from the Shibantan population in the Three Gorges Dam area of Hubei Province, central China, in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
The fossils shaped "leaves" are actually the first animal. Four species of ancient life, currently extinct, with a body length of about 10 cm. These ancient "leaves" have round sucks on the bottom clinging to the seabed, while "stems" and "leaves" stand straight on the sea. They often sway along the water under the sea. The researchers speculate that they feed by absorbing small particles of organic matter from the sea when they sway.
According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ediacarae are soft, macro- organizms that thrive in the late Ediacarae. They form a unique collection of macro- fossil life before the Cambrian baby boom, a turning point in the evolution of early macro- organizms.
The Cambrian baby boom is a relatively rapid appearance of most of the major animals recorded from fossils around 542 million years ago in the Cambrian era. This event comes with the main variations of other creatures.
The research on the icefall was conducted by graduate students Dr. Wang Xiaopeng, Associate Professor Pang Ke and Professor Chen Zhe from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Biology, under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Professor Xiao Shuhai from Virginia Tech in the US.
About 550 million years ago, these "leafs" on the seabed were a particularly large and popular group of creatures. But until now, people know very little about their biological properties. They preceded what was known as the Cambrian baby boom.
Clarifying the mystery of these ancient "leafs" at the bottom of the sea could provide important clues about the origin of life, Associate Professor Pang told Xinhua.
The article on archaeologists' research has been published in the Journal of Cities Biology.
