The rangeomorph called Fractofusus has been found to be the oldest complex creature that reproduced on Earth. The discovery was reported by Dr. Emily Mitchell, a postdoctoral researcher in the University of Cambridge in Britain, in the edition of the journal Nature.
Mitchell examined the distribution patterns of Fractofusus around Mistaken Point in Newfoundland in Canada and found evidence that the creatures reproduced in two different manners. Fractofusus is considered to be mostly a plant but it had some elements of animal structure that makes the creature difficult to classify. Fractofusus lived in the water and the water preserved the fossils.
The oldest generation of Fractofusus dropped off a new generation much like a fern drops leaves. The second and third generations of the creature were connected by runners sent out by the older generation like strawberry plants. The pattern of individual placement is similar to that of plants that live on land. The older generation practiced asexual reproduction and successive generations could reproduce sexually or asexually.
No other creature like rangeomorphs has ever been found on Earth. The creatures had no mouth, had no means of locomotion, and had no organs. Fractofusus averaged about four inches in length but some have been found to be as large as seven feet in length. The creatures are thought to have absorbed nutrients from the water they lived in. Rangeomorphs simply vanished from the face of the Earth about 540 million years ago.
