Research reveals that the earliest known progenitor of humans was not the 500-million-year-old creature with “no anus.”
Scientists from Bristol University have discovered the mystery of a minuscule organism with a mouth but no anus that has existed for 500 million years. According to the findings, the spiny creature was not indeed the oldest progenitor of modern humans.
Saccorhytus, as this critter is known, was originally uncovered in 2017. The research discovered that the primordial characteristic of the deuterostome group, from which our ancestors descended, is a wrinkled sack with a wide mouth twisted by spines and holes.
Yunhuan Liu, a professor of palaeobiology at Chang'an University in Xi'an, China, says that some of the fossils are so wonderfully preserved that they almost appear to be living. The strange creature Saccorhytus had rings of intricate spines surrounding its mouth but no anus.
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