A microscopic but exceptionally well-preserved billion-year-old fossil has been found in the Scottish Highlands – it may be the first multicellular known to science so far and among single-celled organisms and the first animals on our planet Is a link to .
The extraordinary discovery is known by researchers from Sheffield (UK) and Boston College (USA) as Basso Diabase near Loch Torridon in Wester Ross, Scotland.
The fossil contained in a piece of rock was named Bissellum Brasserie Ed Has been described In a study published in Current Biology.
Location map and geological engraving in the lower map
It is a compact spherical shaped organism, which is made up of two different types of cells – hence One of the earliest examples of being multicellular is Known for science, perhaps for the first time, researchers have identified it.
The fact that it is composed of only two distinct cell types suggests that it may also be the link between single-celled and multicellular organisms, First step towards animal world.
Professor Charles Wellman of the University of Sheffield said: “The complex multicellularity and the origin of animals are considered two of the most important events in the history of life on Earth; our discovery sheds new light on both. We have found.” A primitive spherical organism consisting of two distinct cell types, the first step toward a complex multicellular structure, something that has never been described before in the fossil record.
The professor suggests that thanks to this discovery it can be said that the development of multicellular animals occurred at least one billion years ago and may have been the first stages of animal development. Like lakes in fresh water, not in the sea, Because at that time, according to science, the water of the place should have been sweet.
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