Earth 1 Billion Years Ago | Proterozoic Eon | Earth Documentary | Ancient Planet Trilogy | S1E03

Summary

The script narrates Earth's early history, detailing the Huronian glaciation 2.4 billion years ago, a global ice age triggered by oxygen's rise and greenhouse gases' fall. It discusses how life survived near geothermal vents and the subsequent volcanic activity that ended the ice age. The script also covers the emergence of eukaryotic life, the 'boring billion' with stagnant life forms, and the Ediacaran period's strange creatures before the Cambrian explosion, setting the stage for Earth's diverse ecosystems.

Takeaways

• 🌐 The Huronian glaciation was a global freezing event 2.4 billion years ago that lasted until 2.1 billion years ago, causing even the equatorial regions to be covered in ice.
• 🌿 The Great Oxidation Event, caused by photosynthesizing cyanobacteria, led to the first mass extinction and a significant drop in greenhouse gases like CO2 and methane.
• 🧊 The formation of the supercontinent Rodinia contributed to the drop in CO2 levels as it trapped the gas in sediments, leading to global cooling.
• ⛷ The albedo effect, where ice and snow reflect sunlight, prevented heat accumulation and further cooled the Earth, contributing to the snowball Earth state.
• 🌋 Volcanic activity during glaciation periods released greenhouse gases, eventually helping Earth escape its frozen state.
• 🌞 Earth's optimal distance from the Sun was crucial in preventing it from remaining frozen like Mars.
• 🦠 Life, particularly near geothermal vents and fields, survived the ice ages in ice-free areas, suggesting life played a role in the snowball Earth.
• 🌿 The appearance of eukaryotes, such as ACOG microfossils, marked a significant step in the evolution of life, with some being the first single-celled algae.
• 🌱 The Ediacaran biota, including the mysterious rangeomorphs, appeared before the Cambrian explosion, showing a diversity of life forms that are unlike anything living today.
• 🐛 The discovery of Iaria warioa, a worm-like animal, indicates that organisms resembling modern animals were present before the Cambrian explosion.
• 🌏 The Ediacaran period ended with the breakup of Rodinia and the formation of new supercontinents like Pannotia, marking the end of the Proterozoic Eon and the beginning of the Phanerozoic Eon, where life diversified significantly.

Q & A

What was the Huronian glaciation?

The Huronian glaciation was a global freezing event that occurred around 2.4 billion years ago, causing even the equatorial regions to be covered in ice. It is believed to have lasted until 2.1 billion years ago.

What triggered the Huronian glaciation?

The Huronian glaciation was likely triggered by a chain of successive factors, including the enrichment of the planet's atmosphere with oxygen by photosynthesizing cyanobacteria, which led to the replacement of greenhouse gases and a subsequent drop in global temperatures.

How did life survive during the snowball Earth period?

Life survived during the snowball Earth period in ice-free areas near geothermal vents and fields that melted the ice around them, similar to conditions seen in Iceland and Antarctica today.

What role did volcanoes play in ending the snowball Earth state?

Volcanoes played a crucial role by continuously pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere during the glaciation, eventually accumulating enough to warm the planet and break the icy state.

What was the significance of the Lomagundi Excursion?

The Lomagundi Excursion was a period around 2.2 billion years ago when oxygen was abundant in the oceans and atmosphere, but there were no organisms to consume or breathe it. This period lasted for approximately 200 million years.

What were the first organisms capable of efficient use of oxygen?

The first organisms capable of efficient use of oxygen were the eukaryotes, which had DNA neatly packed inside a nucleus and possessed mitochondria for respiration.

What is the significance of the ACOG microfossils?

ACOG microfossils, dating back to 1.8 billion years, are significant as they are considered the oldest eukaryotic microfossils and possibly the first single-celled eukaryotic algae or phytoplankton.

What was unique about the organism Grapia spiralis?

Grapia spiralis was a peculiar organism that appeared around 1.87 billion years ago, unique for its time due to its thin tube shape and length that could be seen with the naked eye.

What is the 'boring billion' and why was it considered boring?

The 'boring billion' refers to a period between 1.8 billion to 800 million years ago when life on Earth stagnated with no complex organisms appearing and no drastic climate changes, making it a period of stability and little change.

What were the Rimac rifts and why are they significant?

The Rimac rifts were a group of strange and almost alien-like organisms that appeared around 570 million years ago. They are significant because their structure is unknown in anything that lives today, and they represent a form of life that may have vanished long ago.

What does the discovery of Iaria warioka indicate about the early development of animals?

The discovery of Iaria warioka, a tiny wormlike animal from the Ediacaran period, indicates that the first organisms resembling modern animals appeared before the Cambrian explosion, showing a gradual increase in complexity leading up to that event.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 Huronian Glaciation and the Snowball Earth

The script describes the Huronian glaciation, a global freezing event that occurred 2.4 billion years ago during the Proterozoic Eon, when even the equatorial regions were covered in ice. This event was triggered by a series of factors, including the Great Oxidation Event caused by photosynthesizing cyanobacteria, which enriched the atmosphere with oxygen and led to the first mass extinction. The replacement of greenhouse gases by oxygen caused a dramatic drop in global temperatures, leading to the formation of ice sheets. The albedo effect from the ice and snow further cooled the planet. Despite the harsh conditions, life survived in ice-free areas near geothermal vents. The Earth eventually escaped its frozen state 2.1 billion years ago, likely due to volcanic activity that released greenhouse gases and Earth's optimal distance from the Sun.

05:02

🌿 The Emergence of Eukaryotic Life

The script discusses the emergence of eukaryotic life around 1.9 billion years ago, characterized by more complex cells with a nucleus and mitochondria. The first eukaryotes were larger than prokaryotic cells and included a group known as ACOG, which might have been the first single-celled eukaryotic algae. The paragraph also mentions the appearance of Grania spiralis, an early organism that could be seen with the naked eye, and the mysterious Dagma banai, a 2.2 billion-year-old fossil that resembled modern fungi but appeared earlier than any known eukaryotic organism. The script also describes the 'boring billion' period, a time of stability with little change in life forms or climate, and the formation of the supercontinent Columbia.

10:03

🌿 The Boring Billion and the Rise of Complex Life

The script details the 'boring billion' period, a billion-year stretch with little change in life or climate, where oxygen-producing organisms coexisted with sulfur-using organisms. The oceans were stratified, with an oxygenated surface layer and an anoxic layer below. Towards the end of this period, oxygen levels increased, allowing for the emergence of complex life forms. The appearance of red algae and the first sexually reproducing organisms are highlighted. The script also discusses the formation of the supercontinent Rodinia and the changes in life in the oceans, including the first animals or metazoans, possibly emerging as single-celled protists.

15:04

❄️ Cryogenian Ice Age and the Advent of Multicellular Life

The script describes the Cryogenian Ice Age, which lasted for 85 million years and was a period of severe glaciation. Volcanic activity eventually increased CO2 levels, ending the ice age. The formation of the supercontinent Pannotia coincided with another ice age, the Gaskiers glaciation. The script discusses the appearance of strange and alien-like creatures during the Ediacaran period, including the rangeomorphs, which had a unique structure not seen in modern life. It also mentions the proarticulates, a group of organisms that lacked mouths and guts, and the discovery of cholesterol in their fossils, suggesting they might have been animals.

20:06

🐛 The Ediacaran Fauna and the Dawn of Modern Animals

The script highlights the Ediacaran period, where the first large, complex multicellular organisms appeared. It discusses the discovery of Iaria warioa, a tiny worm-like animal that made burrows, indicating the presence of modern animal-like organisms before the Cambrian explosion. The paragraph also mentions the appearance of other Ediacaran creatures like Kimberella, which might have been an early mollusk, and the gradual increase in complexity of burrows made by worm-like animals. The script concludes by emphasizing the 4 billion-year journey of life on Earth that led to the current diversity of life forms.

Keywords

💡Huronian Glaciation

The Huronian Glaciation was a global freezing event that occurred around 2.4 billion years ago, marking the beginning of the Proterozoic Eon. This period is characterized by the extensive glaciation of the Earth's surface, even in equatorial regions. The script describes this event as a significant turning point in Earth's history, showcasing the dramatic changes the planet underwent. The Huronian Glaciation is a key concept in understanding the video's theme of Earth's dynamic geological past.

💡Great Oxidation Event

The Great Oxidation Event refers to the period around 2.4 billion years ago when cyanobacteria enriched the Earth's atmosphere with oxygen through photosynthesis. This event is pivotal in the video's narrative as it set the stage for the Huronian Glaciation by altering the atmospheric composition, which in turn affected global temperatures and led to the mass extinction of many microorganisms that could not survive in an oxygen-rich environment.

💡Greenhouse Gases

Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, are integral to the video's discussion of Earth's climate history. The script explains how the reduction of these gases in the atmosphere, due to the formation of the supercontinent Canaland and the Great Oxidation Event, contributed to the cooling of the planet and the onset of the Huronian Glaciation. This concept is crucial for understanding the video's exploration of how atmospheric composition influences climate.

💡Albedo Effect

The Albedo Effect is mentioned in the context of the ice-albedo feedback loop, where the increasing ice cover on Earth reflected more sunlight back into space, leading to further cooling. This effect is a critical concept in the video's explanation of how the Earth entered a 'snowball' state during the Huronian Glaciation. Understanding the albedo effect helps viewers grasp the self-reinforcing mechanisms that can drive climate change.

💡Volcanoes

Volcanoes play a crucial role in the video's account of how Earth escaped its snowball state. They are highlighted as the source of greenhouse gases that were released into the atmosphere, eventually warming the planet enough to melt the ice. This keyword is essential for understanding the natural processes that can counteract climate change and restore a more habitable environment.

💡Eukaryotes

Eukaryotes are organisms with complex cells containing a nucleus and other organelles. The video discusses the emergence of eukaryotes as a significant step in the evolution of life on Earth. The script mentions that eukaryotes like ACOG were some of the first single-celled organisms, which eventually led to the development of more complex life forms. This keyword is central to the video's narrative on the origins of multicellular life.

💡Cryoconite Holes

Cryoconite holes are small, dark, meltwater holes that form in glacial ice, often due to the accumulation of dust and other particles. The video uses these holes as an example of how life could survive in extreme conditions by occupying these microhabitats. Cryoconite holes are an important concept in the video's discussion of the resilience of life during the harsh conditions of the Huronian Glaciation.

💡Snowball Earth

Snowball Earth refers to a hypothetical period when the Earth was entirely or nearly entirely frozen over. This term is used in the video to describe the extreme glaciation during the Huronian event. The concept of Snowball Earth is central to understanding the video's portrayal of the most severe ice age in Earth's history and the conditions that life had to endure.

💡Boring Billion

The 'Boring Billion' is a term used in the video to describe a period of approximately one billion years between 1.8 billion to 800 million years ago when there was a lack of significant evolutionary change or geological activity. This term is important for understanding the video's narrative of periods of stability and stagnation in Earth's history, which contrast with the more dynamic and change-filled eras.

💡Rodinia

Rodinia is a supercontinent that existed during the Neoproterozoic era, approximately 1.1 billion to 0.7 billion years ago. The video discusses Rodinia in the context of the Earth's geological history and its breakup as a contributing factor to the cooling of the planet and subsequent glaciations. Understanding Rodinia is key to the video's exploration of the connections between continental drift and climate change.

💡Ediacaran Biota

The Ediacaran Biota refers to a group of organisms that lived during the Ediacaran period, just before the Cambrian explosion. The video describes these organisms as strange and alien-like, with forms that are very different from those of today. This keyword is essential for understanding the video's discussion of the diversity and experimentation in body plans that occurred prior to the rapid evolution of modern animal forms.

Highlights

The Huronian glaciation, a global freezing event 2.4 billion years ago, caused by a chain of successive factors.

Photosynthesizing cyanobacteria enriched the atmosphere with oxygen, causing the great oxidation event and a mass extinction.

Oxygen replaced greenhouse gases, leading to a dramatic drop in carbon dioxide and methane levels, causing global cooling.

The formation of the supercontinent Rodinia contributed to the decrease in CO2 levels.

Albedo effect from ice and snow reflected sunlight, preventing heat accumulation and further cooling the Earth.

Life was responsible for the snowball Earth state, with glaciers advancing and retreating for 300 million years.

Ice-free areas near geothermal vents provided habitats for life to survive the freezing catastrophe.

Volcanoes played a crucial role in ending the snowball Earth state by releasing greenhouse gases.

Earth's position at the optimal distance from the Sun was key to escaping the snowball state.

The Lomagundi Excursion was a period of abundant oxygen with no organisms to consume it, lasting around 200 million years.

Eukaryotes, organisms with complex internal structures, emerged around 2 billion years ago.

ACOG, a group of mysterious microfossils, were some of the earliest eukaryotic life forms.

Grania spiralis, a peculiar organism, appeared in the fossil record, possibly an early true eukaryotic alga.

Dagma banayi, a 2.2 billion-year-old fossil, is a problematic find suggesting early life on land.

The 'boring billion' was a period of stability with no complex organisms or drastic climate changes.

The end of the boring billion marked the beginning of the Ediacaran period, with the emergence of complex life forms.

Rangeomorphs were large, complex multicellular organisms that appeared before the Cambrian explosion.

Proarticulates were strange organisms that appeared in the Ediacaran period, possibly early animals.

Kimberella, an Ediacaran creature, is thought to be an early mollusk, indicating the emergence of modern animal types.

Iaria wario, a tiny wormlike animal, was a significant discovery indicating the appearance of modern animals before the Cambrian explosion.

The Ediacaran period ended with life diversifying into various forms and shapes, setting the stage for the Phanerozoic Eon.

Transcripts

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

snow ice shivering winds and Frozen

wastelands a white silence stretches

from Horizon to

Horizon this is our planet 2.4 billion

years ago at the very beginning of the

protozoic Eon the world entered a state

of global glaciation when even the

equatorial regions were covered in

ice This Global freezing event known as

the huronian glaciation lasted until 2.1

billion years ago and is believed to

have been triggered by a chain of

successive

factors as we already know by 2.4

billion years ago photosynthesizing CYO

bacteria had enriched our planet's

atmosphere with oxygen causing the great

oxidation event although this enrichment

ultimately created an environment that

could sustain complex life it came at a

price it likely caused the planet's

first mass extinction to most of the

microorganisms that populated Earth at

that time oxygen was a poisonous

gas but an even more dramatic

consequence of this event was that

oxygen replaced greenhouse gases in the

atmosphere here the amount of carbon

dioxide which is known for keeping our

planet warm dropped dramatically and

methane and even more powerful

greenhouse gas which had dominated our

atmosphere since the hadian Eon was

reduced to the trace levels we see

today one reason why the concentration

of CO2 dropped was the formation of the

first large supercontinent

canaland when this large land mass

became exposed to the air CO2 which was

dissolved in Rain droplets fell to the

rocky ground ground and became trapped

in the sediments being withdrawn from

the

atmosphere with much less greenhouse gas

to trap the heat the global climate

became cooler and ice sheets started to

build in the polar regions and the

highlands as the ice grew the albo

effect kicked in White glaas and snow

covered areas reflected the sunlight

back to space preventing the atmosphere

from accumulating heat thus cooling it

even

further it didn't take long for the

enormous glassiers to build up and

advance from the north and south to meet

at the

Equator this was not the first time that

glaciers had appeared on Earth in fact

2.9 billion years ago there was an Ice

Age known as the pongola glaciation but

it was nothing like as severe as the

huronian event now for the first time

the whole planet became icebound and

entered a state known as the snowball

Earth and apparently life was at least

one of the factors responsible for it

it was a time of several long ice ages

when glaciers Advanced and retreated for

300 million years with the longest Ice

Age lasting for 100 million

years but how did life survive this

freezing

catastrophe although Earth was mostly

Frozen there were some icef free areas

they formed near geothermal Vents and

Fields that would melt the ice around

them just like we see in Iceland and

Antarctica today such places would have

been perfect for life to survive and

even

Thrive some microorganisms could have

lived in subglacial Lakes like they do

today in Antarctica's Lake

vosto others could have lived in air

bubbles that were frozen in the

ice finally they could have occupied

cryoconite holes that melted in ice

under the accumulation of mineral dust

and volcanic ash such holes are present

in many modern day glassiers

[Music]

Earth remained Frozen until 2.1 billion

years ago when it suddenly broke through

its icy

trap but what made it possible for our

planet to escape its snowball

State the first answer is volcanoes

during the entire time of glaciation

they pumped greenhouse gases into the

atmosphere until there was a sufficient

amount to keep the planet warm

again the second answer would be our

fortunate position position at the

optimal distance from the Sun if Earth

had been located marginally farther out

it would probably have remained Frozen

until today being not much different

from cold dry

Mars 2.2 billion years ago Earth entered

an unusual time known as the lomag

Gandhi Excursion when oxygen in the

oceans and atmosphere was in abundance

but there were no organisms to consume

or breathe it things probably remained

like this for around 200 million years

until the first organisms capable of

efficient use of oxygen

arrived these organisms were the

ukar in contrast to the simple internal

structure of already existing

procaryotes with their genes freely

swimming in cytoplasm inside of the cell

walls ukar Nots had their DNA neatly

packed inside the nucleus in the center

of the

cell moreover they possessed very

important organel called mitochondria

that were responsible for breathing

oxygen and producing energy while early

ukaria were still single- celled

organisms they were 10 times larger than

procaryotic

cells It is believed that the earliest

ukar existed at least 1.9 billion years

ago while the first known eukaryotic

fossils come from 1.8 billion year old

rocks these oldest ukari belong to a

diverse group of mysterious microfossils

collectively called ACOG which in Greek

means Unknown Origin today scientists

believe that they were the first single

cell ucareo algae or the first

phytoplankton of the protozoic

oceans although acox were minute

organisms no larger than 0.15 mm across

they were giants in comparison to

procaryotic life forms some of these

eukaryotic acox like dicos were round

with smooth surfaces While others like

shos fidum were covered with tiny spines

or

processes there is even a one .6 billion

year old spiny ACR talk called Tania

whose morphology suggests that it might

be related to

fungi at least 1.87 billion years ago

but possibly even 200 million years

earlier A peculiar organism called

grania spiralis appears in the fossil

record unlike anything else that lived

at this time in the oceans thin tube

shaped grania reached several centimet

in length and therefore could be seen

with the naked eye lived in water and

was likely attached with one end to the

bottom sediments scientists are still

not certain what grapa was while some

suggest it was a colony or string of

procaryotic CA bacteria others consider

it to be an early true eukaryotic alga

this mysterious organism survived and

remained virtually unchanged for another

1.2 billion years almost until the end

of the protozoic

Eon while scientists remain puzzled by

graa there is another enigmatic organism

that seems to be completely out of place

on the time scale meet dagma banayi an

extremely problematic 2.2 billion year

old fossil from South Africa it was

small from 0.3 to 1.8 mm in size and

shaped like a tiny n with an opening at

the top but the most fascinating thing

about dagma was that it lived on land

its tiny fossils were connected into

bunches by threads on the surface of

ancient soil strikingly resembling

modern fungi the problem is it appears

in the fossil record much earlier than

any known eukariotic organism therefore

dagma must have been something simpler

than plant animal or fungus perhaps it

was a procaryotic

organism if not the emergence of ukar

would have to be pushed back at least

300 million

years nevertheless somewhere during the

first half of the protozoic Eon the

earliest ukari ODS appeared marking the

beginning of multicellular Life as we

know it giving rise to three new

biological

kingdoms plants

fungi and animals which are all forms of

ukar

[Music]

Nots if we were to look at our planet

from space 1.8 billion years ago we

would see the land masses combined into

a super continent called Colombia or

Nuna it existed from 1.82 to 1.3 3 5

billion years ago until it broke apart

as every supercontinent eventually did

the land most likely looked reddish like

the Martian surface but on Earth it was

surrounded by Blue oceans and topped

with a layer of white curly

clouds as oxygen became widespread in

the atmosphere the soil started to

corrode the weathering process activated

by oxygen started to destroy granites

and bassils that contained iron turning

them into Rusty red soil

between 1.8 billion to 800 million years

ago life on Earth was

stagnating no complex organisms appeared

and no cataclysms or drastic climate

changes occurred the history of Earth

was decidedly dull and uneventful for a

full billion

years scientists call this period the

boring billion but what was the cause of

this continuous and tedious stability

and did nothing interesting actually

happen for such a long stretch of time

indeed life was already capable of

oxygenic photosynthesis oxygen producing

ciona bacteria were in place but for

some reason the atmosphere and oceans

did not contain enough oxygen to sustain

any complex life forms something was

keeping the oxygen levels too

low at this time oxygen relasing life

forms coexisted and competed with sulfur

using organisms green and purple sulfur

bacteria and methanogens are Kia that

produced

methane neither of the lateral organisms

produced

oxygen the oceans during the boring

billion were stratified there was a thin

3 to 6 M deep surface layer that was

oxygenated and inhabited by

photosynthesizing single celled green

algae including

acox below this clean layer and down to

the bottom the waters were completely

anoxic and populated with purple sulfur

microbes and methanogens

[Music]

towards the end of the boring billion

when oxygen producing organisms finally

outnumbered sulfur using bacteria as

well as methane generating ARA oxygen

level started to increase Paving the way

for the emergence of complex life

forms by 1 billion years ago a red alga

called borha discovered in the Canadian

Arctic appears in the fossil record

despite its Antiquity it strikingly

resembles bangia a genus of red Alan

that exists

today fascinatingly borha which

inhabited the shallow sea floor just a

little more than 1 billion years ago had

male and female spores making it the

first known sexually reproducing

organism in 2020 Chinese scientists

discovered A peculiar fossilized green

seaweed called protus anticus that came

from 1 billion year old rocks it was

only 2 mm in size but of enormous

importance importance it may be the

oldest fossilized green plant ever

found as we have just seen the boring

billion was a time when a number of

important changes took place and

probably wasn't that dll after

all when it officially ended 800 million

years ago the land masses assembled into

another supercontinent called rodinia

which derives from the Russian verb to

give birth and was surrounded by the

ocean Mar IA from the Russian word Mir

which means

world the land was still devoid of any

complex life only bacterial mats

surrounded the water bodies and wet

areas but in the ocean things were quite

different while bacterial mats like soft

and colorful carpets covered the bottom

between mounds and pillars of

stromatolites the water column was

populated with microscopic organisms and

substantial areas of the seaf Flor were

covered with CP seaweeds

it's likely that the first animals or

metazoans appeared at this time in the

form of single cell protists called

coagulants these organisms look like

little Sachs with a collar around a

thread-like appendage called a

flatulum as the flatulum Beats it pulls

water through the collar where all of

the food particles are

collected Co vulet are known to form

colonies where newborn cells don't float

apart but stay together with the others

in cooperation they Ed their flatula to

create a powerful filtering

system at some point different cells

started performing different functions

some were responsible for feeding While

others formed the outer protective layer

and this is how true metaz zones

emerged sponges are believed to be the

very first animals to appear on Earth

indeed the earliest animal fossils

belong to a sponge-like organism

discovered in Namibia that existed 76

million years

ago it was named otavia antiqua ranging

from half a millimeter to 5 mm in size

otavia fed on algae and bacteria sucking

them through their tiny pores into a

central body cavity where the food was

processed these animals likely formed

colonies that sat on the seaf Flor

between algae filtering water for

food around 720 million years ago earth

started to cool down again in fact there

were at least two subsequent glaciations

and quite possibly our planet turned

into a giant Noble once again these

glaciations are thought to have been

caused by similar factors that caused

the huronian event the increase of

oxygen in the atmosphere and and

chemical weathering as the rodinia

supercontinent started to split apart

both processes removed CO2 from the

atmosphere making it cooler this Ice Age

lasted for 85 million years until 635

million years ago and the whole time

period was named the

cryogenian once again volcanoes

eventually replenished the atmosphere

with CO2 and th the global ice cover

returning the climate to normal and

Earth has never since experienced such

severe glaciations as seen in protozoic

times around 620 million years ago the

majority of land masses gathered

together in the Southern Hemisphere and

formed another supercontinent called

penosa its assemblage coincided with

another Ice Age called the gasas

glaciation but it lasted only 340,000

years and was not nearly as severe as

the previous

ones it appears that at that time Earth

just managed to escape another snowall

state

the final 994 million years of the

protozoic Eon are named The Ed acine

period And this is when truly strange

and almost alien creatures

appeared around 570 million years ago in

what is now Newland Canada 1 kilometer

below the water surface on the dark sea

floor we encounter the first large

complex multicellular

organisms spindle-shaped bodies of

fractofusus that reached up to 40 cm lay

on the soft microbial mats connected to

their young with stolen like

filaments cabbage like bread gatier

reached about 20 cm and was attached to

the bottom with a bulbous hold fast in

the center of several leaf-like

petals fronds of charia Mason that

looked like large feathers bending back

and forth in the water currents reached

up to 60

cm while 2 m tall trapaca towered over

this deep water garden

all of these organisms are collectively

called Rim offs and are distinguished by

their unusual structure that is unknown

in anything that lives today their

bodies branched into fractal modules of

four subsequently smaller orders each

module was composed of a series of

smaller modules that looked exactly like

the full

creature scientists are having

difficulty determining what these

organisms actually were lyans animals

fungky giant single- celled

creatures or were they a completely

different form of life that vanished

long ago one that deserves to be put

into a separate now extinct

Kingdom while the debate is still on we

know for certain that rangeomorphs were

not plants although superficially they

looked like them plants require sunlight

to perform photosynthesis but these

organisms lived far too deep down in the

water for light to reach them

another question is how and on what did

these creatures

feed the common thinking is that they

were practicing osmotrophic feeding a

passive absorption of dissolved organic

carbon from the water this is probably

why the rangeomorphs grew fractally

increasing their surface area to absorb

as many nutrients as

possible later around 560 million years

ago we still encountered rangeomorphs

like Chia and six lob rangia but along

with them new types of strange organisms

start to appear in the fossil record

they look like pancakes that were lying

on the top of microbial mats most likely

feeding on them this group of Ed Acron

biota has been named the pro articulates

and is mostly known from ancient shallow

Marine environments of Northwestern

Russia and Southern

Australia two of the most well-known Pro

articulates are the 25 cm long yoria and

and its larger 1 M long relative

dickinsonia these creatures consisted of

two rows of tubes or isomers that

radiated to the sides from the central

axis of the

organism the most confounding part about

these creatures is that they lack mouths

and guts as well as any external sensory

or reproductive

organs scientists also think that Pro

articulates were able to move around on

the sea bottom in search of new food

sources for example when dickinsonia had

abs absorbed the entire microbial mat

beneath its body it moved to another

location to keep feeding indeed there

are traces of fossils of dickinsonia and

yoria that show multiple imprints of the

same organism hinting to its Mobility

additionally a recent study of lipid

biomarkers extracted from dickinsonia

fossils revealed something fascinating

cholesterol this indicates that they

might have been animals after

all while the Affinity of dickinsonia

and its kin is still debated there was

another edcan creature called kimberella

whose classification is more or less

agreed upon trace fossils suggest that

it was mobile bilaterally symmetrical

and might have possessed a feeding organ

with teeth similar to that of mollusks

this is why kimberella is thought to be

a ban animal possibly an early mollusk

that grazed upon microbial mats as

modern snails

do but the most convincing Discovery

indicating that the first organisms

resembling modern animals appeared in

edcan times before the Cambrian

explosion was made in 2020 through most

of the second part of the edcan period

there is fossil evidence of barrows that

with time gradually increased in

complexity and were most certainly made

by wormlike animals but the makers of

these Burrows had remained

elusive finally rocks from South

Australia revealed 555 milliony Old

fossils of a tiny wormlike animal that

was named Iaria wara it lived lived and

made its Burrows among other Racine

organisms of Uncertain Origins but Iaria

was something far more

familiar while this several MIM long

organism was neither impressive nor

pretty it's hard to overestimate its

significance scientists believe that

animals like Iaria arrived just before

the time when life radiated into a huge

variety of fora such as worms molis

arthropods and even vertebrates

Earth's long 4 billion year Journey was

a prerequisite for life to achieve

today's wonderful

diversity after the protozoic Eon was

over life literally burst into various

forms and

shapes during the next 540 million years

in what is called the fanoro Eon life

inhabited all possible ecological

environments from far

oceans to

land and even the

air changing this ancient Planet into

the place we call home

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