“The ‘time of visible life’ seems to have begun much earlier than we thought,” commented Stefan Bengtson, Professor Emeritus of palaeo-zoology at the Swedish Museum of Natural History. It appears Central India, specifically Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, is home to fossils embedded with a red algae, which suggests that these specimens may be the “oldest plant-like life”, according to The Hindu.

Bengtson cautions that the discovered fossils are devoid of DNA given that these ancient organisms are estimated to be 1.6 billion years old. However, he posits that his research strongly suggests the specimens discovered “share significant features with modern eukaryotic algae, more specifically red algae.”

So, if for the time being we assume the ‘biota of filamentous and lobate organisms’ found in these fossils are indeed a form of red algae, how radically would that affect our timeline of visible life? The answer is quite a bit, as this discovery could push the timeline 400 million years back. It was previously thought the oldest plant-like life existed 1.2 billion years ago.

As of now, the well-preserved fossils of a shallow marine environment in Central India have been deposited in the collections of the Swedish Museum of Natural History, where they are being studied. Although researchers appear confident in their discovery, the only sure thing we can flesh out of this discovery is that Central India is going to become an epicentre for Bioarchaeology, as researchers flock to find evidence that has an immense potential to disrupt our preconceived notions regarding how far back life on Earth took place.

For a complete scientific breakdown of the discovery you can read Bengtson’s research article on PLOS Biology

Representational feature image via DailyHunt