Primaevifilum is an extinct genus of basal prokaryote that lived in Australia during the Early Archean.
Description[]
| “ | [The analysis] tells us life had to have begun substantially earlier and it confirms that it was not difficult for primitive life to form and to evolve into more advanced microorganisms, [...] By 3.465 billion years ago, life was already diverse on Earth; that's clear — primitive photosynthesizers, methane producers, methane users, [...] [I]f the conditions are right, it looks like life in the universe should be widespread,
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- —J. William Schopf
Primaevifilum amoenum was between 60–90 micrometers in length. It is vermiform in overall shape, with a body consisting of roughly 50 segments[1]. Primaevifilum's discovery showed life on earth started long before previously imagined, which indicates it may have been easier than assumed. Primaevifilum was discovered in 1992, and appears as small squiggle patterns in ~3.4-billion-year-old rocks. J. William Schopf and team used secondary ion mass spectroscopy to analyze the carbon signature in the fossils. They found three microorganisms, at least, and they were definitely not mineral deposits, though they would have had near-identical signatures. P. minutum produced carbon upon light intake. P. amoenum consumed methane and P. delicatulum fits into Archaea. However, evidence of sulfur-consuming organisms also exists. This places 3.465 billion years as a time where life was already diversified, but the true origin is difficult to estimate. The discovery of Primaevifilum states life is relatively easy to produce, where Schopf et al. hypothesize about the presence of extraterrestrial life[2].
Primaevifilum is known from the Apex Chert, being the oldest fossils, and first described in 1933[3].
Species[]
- P. amoenum
- P. attenuatum
- P. delicatulum
- P. laticellulosum
- P. minutum
- P. septatum
Gallery[]
References[]
Note: references appear as superscript numbers such as: [1].
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