They discovered fossils dating back more than 2.1 billion years that will change what we know about the beginnings of complex life on Earth.

Complex life on Earth was understood to have evolved from simple unicellular organisms to more complex microbes, which later gave rise to animals and plants, It would have started 1.5 billion years earlier than previously thoughtAn analysis of fossil remains found in an underwater volcanic crater in Gabon, Central Africa has revealed.

Their geochemical study, the results of which are reported in the journal Precambrian Research, indicates that complex life forms existed on Earth 2.1 billion years ago, compared to the 635 million years that science has established for its beginning.

Turning in Dating is provided by analysis of complex microbiota in large fossils (about 17 cm) found in an underwater volcanic tomb near the city of Franceville (Gabon) on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa.

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Its existence, according to researchers, is the result of a unique episode of underwater volcanic activity, It occurred after the collision of two continents, which led to an extraordinary richness of nutrients in the area.

The collision of these continents would have led to increased concentrations of oceanic oxygen and phosphorus, two optimal 'ingredients' for the evolution of life, “especially during the transition from simple single-celled organisms to complex organisms such as animals and plants,” says one of the authors, earth science researcher Ernest C. Frew of the University of Wales Cardiff. .

“We believe that the underwater volcanism that followed the collision cut this region off from the global ocean to form a shallow, nutrient-rich inland sea,” the researcher says in a report from Cardiff University.

“That inland sea created an environment where cyanobacterial photosynthesis was abundant for a long time. This led to oxygenation of local seawater and creation of food resources To increase the amount of primitive life,” he points out.

Two Phase Evolution They believe that the “closed” nature of this watershed, the hostile conditions that prevailed beyond the boundaries of this ecosystem for billions of years, prevented these enigmatic life forms from spreading and consolidating around the globe.

Along these lines, the study suggests an evolution of complex life on Earth in two stages: the first episode that occurred at this particular location 2.1 billion years ago, and the second, after atmospheric oxygen levels increased, about 1.5 billion years later. Although the campaign failed in the first attempt, the second led to the increase in animal biodiversity as we know it today.

EFE