First putative occurrence in the fossil record of choanoflagellates, the sister group of Metazoa

Choanoflagellates are microeukaryotes that inhabit freshwater and marine environments and have long been regarded as the closest living relatives of Metazoa. Knowledge on the evolution of choanoflagellates is key for the understanding of the ancestry of animals.

In a recent study published on Scientific Reports, of Nature, lead by MARE reasearcher Carolina Fonseca, the discovery of choanoflagellates may provide an older term of comparison to their extant specimens and provide guidelines for possible identification of these organic components in other locations and ages throughout the geological record.

Article: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-26972-8