Sponges may have existed in the Precambrian era without biomineralized spicules, challenging the criterion for identifying ancient sponge fossils.
A late-Ediacaran fossil, Helicolocellus cantori, found in South China supports the existence of sponges before the Cambrian period with an organic skeleton.
The fossil, resembling a Cantor dust fractal pattern, is interpreted as a sponge related to the Hexactinellida, despite lacking biomineralized spicules.
Siliceous biomineralization, a feature of some sponge classes, may have evolved independently, raising doubts about the necessity of biomineralized spicules for identifying ancient sponge fossils.
Collection
[
|
...
]