World’s ‘oldest meal’ found in 550 million year old fossil

by time news
The creature fed on algae and bacteria from the ocean floor. malyutinaanna / stock.adobe.com

Researchers from the Australian National University analyzed ancient fossils discovered in Russia in 2018.

After finding traces of what she calls “the oldest meal in the worldin a 550-million-year-old fossil, an international team of scientists says they have new insight into how early animals ate, CNN reports.

Has a mouth and an intestine

It is under the name of “Ediacaran biotathat hides part of the oldest life that there was on Earth. Its traces are found in the oldest fossils ever discovered, of which the Kimberella specimen is one. In the intestine of this fossilized slug, scientists have detected preserved phytosterol molecules: this suggests that the creature fed on algae and bacteria from the ocean floor. This nutrient-dense food must have contributed to the significant growth of organisms in the Ediacara biota, according to paleontologists.

«Energy-dense food may explain why Ediacara biota organisms were so large. Almost all fossils that preceded Ediacara biota were single-celled and microscopic in size“, explained Jochen Brocks, professor at the Australian university, according to a press release. Endowed with a mouth and an intestine, Kimberella was certainly one of the most advanced creatures of the Ediacaran era. She digested food in the same way as modern animals.

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