New research rules out theory that 535m-year-old Saccorhytus coronarius fossil is our earliest known ancestor
was an early member of our own evolutionary lineage, a group of animals known as the deuterostomes. But we had specimens that were better preserved, so we knew immediately that the authors had got it flat-out wrong,” said Philip Donoghue, a professor at theThe team recently collected hundreds of additional specimens, which they used to create 3D digital models of the creature and that revealed microscopic features in more detail.
The discovery was made when the team realised that the spines and holes around the fossil’s mouth were not respiratory organs, which is what misled the previous researchers.fossils have a series of holes around their mouth, which they interpreted as primitive gills, a feature of deuterostomes. But we now know that these holes are simply where teeth have broken away,” said Donoghue.
The search for our earliest ancestor continues, Donoghue said. “Our understanding of the deuterostome lineage is in an absolute mess. We are working our way through early fossils to gain a better understanding of our evolution,” he added.
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