Fractofusus was one of the earliest complex creatures on Earth, living in the ancient oceans starting 565 million years ago. Now, a new analysis reveals strange secrets of these ancient beings, including a strange dual method of creating new life.
Reproduction by the ancient lifeforms was accomplished first by sprouting offspring, similar to the way a strawberry plant or spider plant produces young. These acted as "advance scouts," staking new territory. This was followed by the production of seeds or buds that were placed into water, quickly producing clones, which then colonized nearby ground, resulting in widespread reproduction.
The pioneering species appeared during the Ediacaran age of biology, when complicated multicellular creatures first developed. These included rangeomorphs, living beings that were neither plants nor animals. One of these, the Fractofusus, grew to be up to 16 inches long, with a slim oval-shaped body. The ancient species was so unlike anything alive today that paleontologists and biologists remain puzzled by many aspects of its life cycle.
"We knew very little, apart from the fact it lived in the deep sea, it has a relatively large surface area — so it got its nutrients from the water column. We literally had no idea how it reproduced prior to this study," said Emily Mitchell of the University of Cambridge, lead author of a study announcing the discovery.
The methods of reproduction discovered in Fractofusus are employed today in some plants. However, although the means of creating new life are similar to those employed by some species of vegetation, Mitchell stresses that the ancient creatures should not be considered plants, as they could not carry out photosynthesis in the deep, dark waters where the ancient beings once made their home. Biologists and paleontologists are still uncertain how the prehistoric beings relate to the origin and overall design of animals.
Fossils examined in the study were collected from beds found in Newfoundland, Canada. Before the species was formally described for the first time in 2007, the species was informally known to researchers as the spindle.
Researchers found that "grandparent" Fractofusus were seemingly randomly scattered around their ancient range. These were surrounded by parent generations, which, in turn were encompassed by their own offspring. This finding helped researchers determine the unusual dual reproductive methods of Fractofusus.
Their sexual reproduction may have been unusual, but the species as a whole was not highly successful. After the creatures died out 540 million years ago, no other life form resembling them has ever again evolved.
Analysis of the sex lives of Fractofusus was published in the journal Nature.
