Thursday, June 18, 2026

Our first fun mistake

The fossil bed at Mistaken Point, delightful name by the way, is yielding up "Ediacaran" eukaryotic fossils. The region may have been closer to Ediacara at the time, if the "VanDieLand" theory pans out; so, call it Greater Ediacara. Specifically this seabed dates 574Mya, at the start of the "Avalonian" epoch lasting until 560 Mya.

The fossils as fossils have retained zero DNA. What they do retain is where the DNA would have spread: close to the parent(?s), or far. Close "stolons" implies cloning or budding, like fungi or aspen (they say strawberry). Far spreading was done through the water in those days.

Budding eukaryotes don't compete with each other. As long as eukaryotes were stolons, their billion-years remained Boring.

More: interfluid spreading is a prerequisite for mixing before seeding. In short, sex (although here the fluid is just water).

They report that predation did happen but only later in the Ediacaran (or Vendian), running up to the 539 Mya Cambrian onset.

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