Fossils Thought To Be Ancient Marine Creatures May Be Seaweed: Study Proposes

London, 9 Mar (ONA) --- A group of fossils previously thought to be of ancient marine creatures may actually be of a type of seaweed, a study proposed.

The researchers say their findings suggest Protomelission gatehousei was not a bryozoan but a type of green algae, meaning the oldest confirmed bryozoans now date to 480m years ago – after the Cambrian explosion.

Dr Paul Taylor, of the Natural History Museum in London, who was a co-author of the earlier research suggesting Protomelission gatehousei is a bryozoan, said it was not certain that the new fossils were of the same species. He said that even if they were, the lack of tentacles was not surprising as this soft tissue was rarely preserved.

---Ends/Thuraiya/AG