Funisia Explained

Funisia should not be confused with Tunisia.

Funisia is a genus of animal containing the single species F. dorothea. It is an extinct animal from the Ediacaran biota, discovered in South Australia in 2008 by Mary L. Droser and James G. Gehling.

Description

Funisia, a sedentary animal resembling an upright worm, stood about tall.[1] [2] [3] Because individuals grew in dense collections of animals the same age, it is believed to have reproduced sexually, as well as reproduced by budding like modern sponges and corals.[2] Although the evolution of sex took place before the origin of animals, and evidence of sexual reproduction is observed in red algae,[4] Funisia is one of the oldest known animals for which there is evidence of sexual reproduction.[3]

Its relationship to other animals is unknown, but it may belong within the Porifera (sponges), Cnidaria, or it may have been a basal metazoan similarly to sponges.[5]

The genus and species were described in a 2008 paper.[6]

Etymology

The generic name Funisia is after the Latin "rope", and is pronounced to rhyme with Tunisia.[7] The name dorothea is in honour of Dorothy Droser, the mother of Mary L. Droser, one of the scientists who studied the organism.[1]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Fossil sheds light on the history of sex . March 21, 2008 . . London . Lewis . Smith . 2010-05-03.
  2. News: Early life on Earth - no predators, plenty of sex . . 21 March 2008 .
  3. News: Research shows Earth's earliest animal ecosystem was complex and included sexual reproduction . March 20, 2008 . Source: University of California - Riverside via physorg.com
  4. N. J. . Bangiomorpha pubescens n. gen., n. sp.: implications for the evolution of sex, multicellularity, and the Mesoproterozoic/Neoproterozoic radiation of eukaryotes . 2021-06-16 . Paleobiology . 26 . 3 . 386–404 . 2000-09-01. Butterfield. 0094-8373 . 10.1666/0094-8373(2000)026<0386:BPNGNS>2.0.CO;2 . 36648568 .
  5. D. H. Erwin, M. Laflamme, S., M. Tweedt, E. A. Sperling, D. Pisani, and K. J. Peterson. 2011. The Cambrian Conundrum: Early Divergence and Later Ecological Success in the Early History of Animals. Science 334(6059):1091-1097
  6. Science . 21 March 2008 . 319 . 5870 . 1660–1662 . 10.1126/science.1152595 . Synchronous Aggregate Growth in an Abundant New Ediacaran Tubular Organism . Mary L. Droser . James G. Gehling . 18356525. 23002564 .
  7. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/319/5870/1660/DC1 Supporting online material

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