Large colonial organisms with coordinated growth in oxygenated environments 2.1 Gyr ago
El Albani A, Bengtson S, Canfield DE, Bekker A, Macchiarelli R, Mazurier A, Hammarlund EU, Boulvais P, Dupuy JJ, Fontaine C, Fürsich F, Gauthier-Lafaye F, Janvier P, Javaux E, Ossa FO, Pierson-Wickmann AC, Riboulleau A, Sardini P, Vachard D, Whitehouse M, Meunier A (2010)
Publication Language: English
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2010
Journal
Book Volume: 466
Pages Range: 100-104
DOI: 10.1038/nature09166
Abstract
The evidence for macroscopic life during the Palaeoproterozoic era (2.5-1.6 Gyr ago) is controversial. Except for the nearly 2-Gyr-old coil-shaped fossil Grypania spiralis, which may have been eukaryotic, evidence for morphological and taxonomic biodiversification of macroorganisms only occurs towards the beginning of the Mesoproterozoic era (1.6-1.0 Gyr). Here we report the discovery of centimetre-sized structures from the 2.1-Gyr-old black shales of the Palaeoproterozoic Francevillian B Formation in Gabon, which we interpret as highly organized and spatially discrete populations of colonial organisms. The structures are up to 12 cm in size and have characteristic shapes, with a simple but distinct ground pattern of flexible sheets and, usually, a permeating radial fabric. Geochemical analyses suggest that the sediments were deposited under an oxygenated water column. Carbon and sulphur isotopic data indicate that the structures were distinct biogenic objects, fossilized by pyritization early in the formation of the rock. The growth patterns deduced from the fossil morphologies suggest that the organisms showed cell-to-cell signalling and coordinated responses, as is commonly associated with multicellular organization. The Gabon fossils, occurring after the 2.45-2.32-Gyr increase in atmospheric oxygen concentration, may be seen as ancient representatives of multicellular life, which expanded so rapidly 1.5 Gyr later, in the Cambrian explosion. © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.
Authors with CRIS profile
Involved external institutions
Université de Rennes 1 / University of Rennes 1
France (FR)
Swedish Museum of Natural History
Sweden (SE)
Université de Poitiers
France (FR)
LILLE 1 University - Science and Technology
France (FR)
University of Liège (ULg) / Université de Liège
Belgium (BE)
Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN)
France (FR)
National Center for Scientific Research / Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)
France (FR)
Bureau de recherches géologiques et minières (BRGM)
France (FR)
ERM POITIERS (Société Etudes Recherches Matériaux)
France (FR)
University of Manitoba
Canada (CA)
University of Southern Denmark / Syddansk Universitet
Denmark (DK)
France (FR)
Swedish Museum of Natural History
Sweden (SE)
Université de Poitiers
France (FR)
LILLE 1 University - Science and Technology
France (FR)
University of Liège (ULg) / Université de Liège
Belgium (BE)
Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN)
France (FR)
National Center for Scientific Research / Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)
France (FR)
Bureau de recherches géologiques et minières (BRGM)
France (FR)
ERM POITIERS (Société Etudes Recherches Matériaux)
France (FR)
University of Manitoba
Canada (CA)
University of Southern Denmark / Syddansk Universitet
Denmark (DK)
How to cite
APA:
El Albani, A., Bengtson, S., Canfield, D.E., Bekker, A., Macchiarelli, R., Mazurier, A.,... Meunier, A. (2010). Large colonial organisms with coordinated growth in oxygenated environments 2.1 Gyr ago. Nature, 466, 100-104. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature09166
MLA:
El Albani, Abderrazak, et al. "Large colonial organisms with coordinated growth in oxygenated environments 2.1 Gyr ago." Nature 466 (2010): 100-104.
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