# Complex, Multicellular Life from Over Two Billion Years Ago Discovered **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 2, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/complex-multicellular-life-from-over-two-billion-years-ago-discovered/545335 "2010-07-02T19:24:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/complex-multicellular-life-from-over-two-billion-years-ago-discovered/545335/1 "2010-07-02T19:24:12Z")
[Complex, Multicellular Life from Over Two Billion Years Ago Discovered](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100630171711.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29) > [@](#): > > The discovery in Gabon of more than 250 fossils in an excellent state of conservation has provided proof, for the first time, of the existence of multicellular organisms 2.1 billion years ago. This finding represents a major breakthrough: until now, the first complex life forms (made up of several cells) dated from around 600 million years ago. > These new fossils, of various shapes and sizes, imply that the origin of organized life is a lot older than is generally admitted > … > These specimens, which have various shapes and can reach 10 to 12 centimeters, are too big and too complex to be single-celled prokaryotes or eukaryotes. If true, this is very nice. It’s always bugged me that life sat around on its ass\* being unicellular for 3 point some billion years before evolution chanced upon cooperative conglomerations. The timeline kind of implied that going multicelluar was harder than abiogenesis itself\*\*, which doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. \*so to speak. Unicellular beasties are not known for having great buttocks. \*\*of course who is to say that abiogenesis wasn’t an extraterrestrial event? That would throw off the timeline. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/complex-multicellular-life-from-over-two-billion-years-ago-discovered/545335/2 "2010-07-02T19:55:58Z")
Maybe Stephen Baxter is right after all. In one of his books he postulates the development of intelligence on the very early earth - which got wiped out by the asteroid strike which created the moon. His point was that there was a lot of time back then for things to happen. In a later book he writes about extensive civilizations which developed in the first few seconds after the Big Bang. That’s why I like him, he has balls. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/complex-multicellular-life-from-over-two-billion-years-ago-discovered/545335/3 "2010-07-02T23:01:31Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > It’s always bugged me that life sat around on its ass\* being unicellular for 3 point some billion years before evolution chanced upon cooperative conglomerations. It may have been multicellular much earlier . . . countless times . . . but without the ability to reproduce. So every time it happened it was starting from square 1. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/complex-multicellular-life-from-over-two-billion-years-ago-discovered/545335/4 "2010-07-02T23:31:35Z")
“These specimens, which have various shapes and can reach 10 to 12 centimeters, are too big and too complex to be single-celled prokaryotes or eukaryotes” I kinda like this part. Talk about going out a limb…thats like saying it couldnt be a hamster because it was the size of a sky scrapper. Otherwise, pretty cool news all the way around! ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/complex-multicellular-life-from-over-two-billion-years-ago-discovered/545335/5 "2010-07-03T00:29:20Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I kinda like this part. Talk about going out a limb…thats like saying it couldnt be a hamster because it was the size of a sky scrapper. > ! He must not have seen any Japanese monster movies :eek: ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2010, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/complex-multicellular-life-from-over-two-billion-years-ago-discovered/545335/6 "2010-07-04T03:03:10Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > “These specimens, which have various shapes and can reach 10 to 12 centimeters, are too big and too complex to be single-celled prokaryotes or eukaryotes” > > I kinda like this part. Talk about going out a limb…thats like saying it couldnt be a hamster because it was the size of a sky scrapper. > > Otherwise, pretty cool news all the way around! I assumed it was a way of saying it could not have been unicellular life working randomly working together. So it’s more like saying it’s not a bunch of hamsters stacked to be the size of a skyscraper. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2010, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/complex-multicellular-life-from-over-two-billion-years-ago-discovered/545335/7 "2010-07-04T03:28:05Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > He must not have seen any Japanese monster movies :eek: Nor ever played Spelljammer… ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/complex-multicellular-life-from-over-two-billion-years-ago-discovered/545335/8 "2010-07-04T03:39:59Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Maybe Stephen Baxter is right after all. In one of his books he postulates the development of intelligence on the very early earth - which got wiped out by the asteroid strike which created the moon. His point was that there was a lot of time back then for things to happen. Another example from fiction would be _The Green Marauder_ by Larry Niven, which revealed that six hundred eighty million years ago Earth had a fairly advanced civilization of slow-living creatures that used anaerobic biochemistry, which was destroyed by the advent of green plants and the oxygenation of the atmosphere. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/complex-multicellular-life-from-over-two-billion-years-ago-discovered/545335/9 "2010-07-05T19:12:55Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > “These specimens, which have various shapes and can reach 10 to 12 centimeters, are too big and too complex to be single-celled prokaryotes or eukaryotes” > > I kinda like this part. Talk about going out a limb…thats like saying it couldnt be a hamster because it was the size of a sky scrapper. Pity it’s bullshit. Protist Foraminifera of the [Nummulite](http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/species-of-the-day/evolution/nummulites-gizehensis/index.html)genus could grow tests up to 16 cms. Chambered like a mini-ammonite, too, so both big \*and \*complex. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/complex-multicellular-life-from-over-two-billion-years-ago-discovered/545335/10 "2010-07-05T20:08:32Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Maybe Stephen Baxter is right after all. In one of his books he postulates the development of intelligence on the very early earth - which got wiped out by the asteroid strike which created the moon. His point was that there was a lot of time back then for things to happen. I’m not familiar with this book and I’m a Baxter fan, by chance do you remember the title, Id like ot add it to my reading list. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/complex-multicellular-life-from-over-two-billion-years-ago-discovered/545335/11 "2010-07-06T21:07:39Z")
OMG ! HPL was right ! :eek::eek: ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/complex-multicellular-life-from-over-two-billion-years-ago-discovered/545335/12 "2010-07-06T22:09:46Z")
> [@Stuffy](#): > > I’m not familiar with this book and I’m a Baxter fan, by chance do you remember the title, Id like ot add it to my reading list. It was “Evolution.” A pretty interesting book, if you ask me (which no one did). ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/complex-multicellular-life-from-over-two-billion-years-ago-discovered/545335/13 "2010-07-06T22:25:45Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > It was “Evolution.” A pretty interesting book, if you ask me (which no one did). Thanks. I’ve read his Manifold Series and other stuff, he seems to be like a dog with a bone over the Fermi Paradox, still it produces great stories so I’m not complaining.