50-Million-Year-Old Sperm Found in Antarctica

Newsweek ^ | 07.15.2015 | Douglas Main

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks dware. Pale-Ale-ontology ping.

[ElkGroveDan]

I did not have sexual relations with that fossil....

[Rastus]

Antarctic pride parade in 3, 2, 1.

[null and void]

Let me guess, a public grant.

Nope. A pubic grant.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

The origin and evolution of clitellate annelids—earthworms, leeches and their relatives—is poorly understood, partly because body fossils of these delicate organisms are exceedingly rare. The distinctive egg cases (cocoons) of Clitellata, however, are relatively common in the fossil record, although their potential for phylogenetic studies has remained largely unexplored. Here, we report the remarkable discovery of fossilized spermatozoa preserved within the secreted wall layers of a 50-Myr-old clitellate cocoon from Antarctica, representing the oldest fossil animal sperm yet known.

[SunkenCiv]

• 50 million year old sperm cells found in fossilized cocoon

[gnarledmaw]

Am I the only one that sees what those two naughty trees on the right are doing? Great picture.