Sea sponges may have been Earth's first living creatures

Science Biology Evolution Sea sponges may have been Earth's first living creatures The prehistoric invertebrates likely arrived about 541 million years ago. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. At a certain point in Earth's distant past, the planet's assortment of organic molecules and compounds aligned to create the very first living organisms . The identity of these first living things still continues to elude evolutionary biologists. However, a team of MIT geochemists believe that some 541 million-year-old chemical fossils embedded in sediment indicate that some of Earth's earliest creatures were the ancient relatives of today's sea sponges .