We share a uncouth ancestor withSpongeBob SquarePantshundreds of zillion of years ago , though exactly how long ago has been up for debate . Now , analytic thinking of a freshly see 600 - million - class - quondam fogy suggests that parasite - alike animals predate the Cambrian by 60 million years . And if an advanced poriferan - same shape was already around during the Precambian point , that means that similarly innovative fogey of our ( very former ) ancestors from that long ago are also hold off to be find . Thefindingswere published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesthis week .
late written report have suggested that the last common ancestor shared by animal sponges and almost all other animals — calledeumetazoans , which let in people and clams likewise — live more than 200 million years before the Cambrian time period set about around 541 million year ago . Unfortunately , unequivocal dodo evidence of this vulgar ancestor is scant . Researchers have , however , of late unearthed a new fossil brute from the Upper Phosphate Member of the Doushantuo Formation at Weng’an phosphate mining field in southwesterly China .
Using scanning electron microscopy and synchrotron ex - ray tomography , an international squad led byMaoyan Zhu from the Chinese Academy of Scienceshas now canvas the fogey , which they say is a Precambrian parasite .
NamedEocyathispongia qiania , the fogy animal is just 1.2 millimetre wide and 1.1 millimeters tall . It ’s compose of hundred of thousands of cellphone , its structure lie in of three adjacent empty tubes that share a common stem , and it displays multiple characteristic seen in today ’s sponges . They have flat , roofing tile - like cells on their remote surface , which is punctuated with small pores , while their inner surface is covered with a steady pattern of uniform pits , many of which are surround by distinct collars . The savourless cellphone and collared pits resemblepinacocytes and choanocytes on modern sponges , severally . Other feature coherent with modern sponge anatomy include an anchorman consanguineal to a holdfast and orifice for water to flow in and out .
extra specimen are needed to confirm thatEocyathispongia qianiais in fact a Precambrian sponge . But if modern forms of sponge were already alive 600 million years ago , our shared ancestor surely antedate that — which mean that dodo of similarly in advance eumetazoans may be waiting to be added to the fogy record .
