[PatrickHenry]

"On the species level, all the species we found from the Challenger Deep are quite new," researcher Hiroshi Kitazato said vie e-mail. The outer shapes are similar to other known foraminifera, but details of their structure differ ...

We were talking, a day or so ago, about "new" phyla. This is the sort of thing I was thinking about. (Whether this is a good example or not, I haven't a clue.) It could be happening, or be on the verge of happening, almost all the time. It's difficult to know except after millions of years of hindsight.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping! Indeed, I wonder how they will date the emergence of it absent a geologic record?

[furball4paws]

"We were talking, a day or so ago, about "new" phyla. This is the sort of thing I was thinking about. (Whether this is a good example or not, I haven't a clue.) It could be happening, or be on the verge of happening, almost all the time. It's difficult to know except after millions of years of hindsight."

As a bugologist, IMHO, these are more likely an old group, just newly discovered, especially since the authors said they were related to the oldest branch of the forams.