Our Earliest Ancestor?

Scientists claim humankind evolved from a bag-like sea creature with a large mouth.

16:47 31 January 2017

In a study published in the journal Nature, scientists said that humankind evolved from a bag-like sea creature moved by wriggling. The microscopic species lived 540 million years ago and had a large mouth but without an anus.

 

The creature, named Saccorhytus, was identified from microfossils found in China.

 

Simon Conway Morris, of the University of Cambridge, said: "If that was the case, then any waste material would simply have been taken out back through the mouth, which from our perspective sounds rather unappealing."

 

"We think that as an early deuterostome this may represent the primitive beginnings of a very diverse range of species, including ourselves,"

 

"To the naked eye, the fossils we studied look like tiny black grains, but under the microscope the level of detail is jaw-dropping.

 

"All deuterostomes had a common ancestor, and we think that is what we are looking at here."

 

Degan Shu, from Northwest University, added: "Our team has notched up some important discoveries in the past, including the earliest fish and a remarkable variety of other early deuterostomes.

 

"Saccorhytus now gives us remarkable insights into the very first stages of the evolution of a group that led to the fish, and ultimately, to us."