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yesterday

MIT Study Authenticates Rare Steranes, Pointing to Sponges as Earliest Animals

Lab-made matches to rare C31 molecules found in ancient rocks bolster a demosponge origin for the first animals.

Caption:Some of the first animals on Earth were likely ancestors of the modern sea sponge, according to MIT geochemists who unearthed new evidence in very old rocks. Credits: Jose-Luis Olivares, MIT
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three large barrel sponges growing underwater. the background is pure blue. a small angelfish is swimming into the central sponge.
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Overview

  • The peer-reviewed PNAS study reports a newly authenticated C31 sterane in Neoproterozoic sediments alongside earlier C30 signals.
  • The C31 compound aligns with the same biosynthetic pathway found in living demosponges, strengthening a biological source.
  • Laboratory fossilization of eight synthetic C31 sterols produced two products that exactly matched ancient rock remnants.
  • The results counter earlier suggestions that the 2009 Oman C30 steranes arose from algae or non-biological chemistry.
  • The team plans broader sampling of Ediacaran and Neoproterozoic basins to refine the timeline of early animal evolution.