Researchers have discovered 1.6 billion-year-old eukaryotic organisms, the Protosterol Biota, believed to be Earth’s first predators. These ancient creatures, found through fossil fat molecules in ancient rocks, were more complex than bacteria, predating and likely shaping early marine ecosystems. This discovery challenges previous theories of a predominantly bacterial ancient ocean.
The discovery of a “lost world” of ancient organisms that lived in Earth’s waterways at least 1.6 billion years ago could change our understanding of our earliest ancestors.
Known as the ‘Protosterol Biota’, these microscopic creatures are part of a family of organisms called eukaryotes. Eukaryotes have a complex cell structure that includes mitochondria, known as the “powerhouse” of the cell, and a nucleus that acts as the “control and information center.”
Modern forms of eukaryotes that inhabit Earth today include fungi, plants, animals, and single-celled organisms such as amoebae. Humans and all other nucleated creatures can trace their ancestral lineage back to the Last Eukaryotic Common Ancestor (LECA). LECA lived more than 1.2 billion years ago.
The discovery of the Protosterol Biota, published in Nature, was made by researchers from The Australian National University (ANU). According to the researchers, these organisms could have been the first predators on Earth.