The history of our planet has more than 4.5 billion years and during this time the Earth managed to become a home for an incredible number of living creatures, and some of them are able to survive in the most severe environments. In a new study, scientists unexpectedly stumbled up in the Mc-Merdo Gulf in Antarctica that they consider the oldest being on earth, writes iflscience.
It is known that in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Gulf Mc-Merdo the appearance of sponges, known as a giant volcanic sponge (Anoxycalyx Joubini). The determination of the aging of individual animals is a troublesome thing, but the authors of the study believe that they managed to find one of the oldest animals on the planet.
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Sponges are quite interesting creatures, although not the most curious from the point of view of mobility. Fixed invertebrates, such as corals, make up an important part of the ecosystems in which they live, and also provide refuge with other, smaller animals. They are also much more resilient than you could expect.
According to experts from the National Administration of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (Noaa), the skeletal type of sponge adapts well to its specific habitat, which allows organisms to live on solid and rocky surfaces, as well as soft deposits such as sand and silt. Studies also showed that some sponges are also able to attach to the floating garbage. At the same time, these creatures can be extremely rarely found freely floating.
It is known that water is filtered through the porous outer part of the sponge, as a result of which it acquires some movement, receives food and oxygen, and also disperses waste. Scientists have already found out that tiny hairy structures, called flagella and sponges located inside, create streams for filtering bacteria from sponge cells and holding food in them. Their strong skeletal structure helps the lips to withstand a large volume of water that flows through them every day.
Researchers believe that sponges can potentially be the first animals that have appeared on the planet - they can apply for the title of oldest inhabitants of the Earth. Giant volcanic sponges can grow up to 1.5 meters in diameter and 1.95 meters in height. As a rule, they live at a depth of 15 to 144 meters.
In a new study, scientists tried to find out the age of giant volcanic sponges, based on their sizes. The authors of the study watched the lips for 22 years and found that they needed a lot of time to grow.
According to the authors of the study, the largest giant volcanic sponge, noticed in Antarctica, reached a length of about 2 meters. However, scientists have never previously observed how these creatures settle or grow. As a result, the team focused on determining the age of the sea sponges.
As the results show, the age of one sponge reached about 23,000 years, and higher grades indicate that giant volcanic sponges can actually live up to 23,000 years. However, according to further analysis, these ages may be slightly overstated.
In their work, scientists used growth models that take into account, among other things, biological consequences, as well as geological events. According to the co -author of the study, the marine biologist and Dr. Suzanne Gatti, working on such a time scale, you need to think not only about biological consequences, but also to take into account geological events.
Fluctuations in sea level associated with the last glacial maximum (LGM -18 000-22 000 years ago), probably left a place 2M-S. JUBINI " Therefore, we can conclude that not a single naval invertebrate on the shelf of the Ross Sea can be older than ~ 15,000 years as a result, scientists believe that giant volcanic sponges are probably the oldest animals on Earth and are hidden in Antarctica for a minimum of 15,000 years.
Previously, the focus wrote that the largest organism on Earth is the most ancient.