550 Million Years of Non-Evolution? | The Institute for Creation Research

550 Million Years of Non-Evolution?

A strange, new, mushroom-shaped species discovered alive on the deep seafloor near Australia—more than 3,000 feet below sea level—may be a record-breaking living fossil. Researchers investigated the anatomy of this phenomenal animal and published their finds in the online journal PLoS ONE.1 The creature has a pharynx running down the center of a central stalk, leading to "gastrovascular branches" that look like leaf veins running through a soft disc-like body part. It's not a jellyfish, sea squirt, or sponge.

Because it doesn't fit current categories of biology, the search is now on to find out what this creature is, and if or how it might relate to other animals—such as its basic phylum. Every phylum includes a very broad group of creatures. For example, phylum Cnidaria includes all forms of jellyfish, but excludes all other creatures. But so far, this new mushroom-shaped species "cannot at present be placed in an existing phylum."1 It does, however, have a genus: Dendrogramma.

The study authors noted how close their big discovery resembles certain fossils found in Ediacaran rocks. Only rarely are fossils found in these layers beneath the Cambrian strata. In contrast, Cambrian fossils abound with diversity and contain representatives of almost every living phylum, including fish from Chordata, the phylum for vertebrates.2,3

This newly discovered sea creature also challenges evolutionary interpretations of biology. If this really is a "living fossil"—a creature with ancient fossil representatives yet still alive today—that can be found in the Ediacaran rocks, then how will secular biologists explain that evolution had no effect on it over the course of 550 million years? After all, during that same supposed time, evolution was morphing something like mindless sea squirts into scientists.

If future research confirms that these living Dendrogramma represent Ediacaran animal forms, then none of these challenging questions confront biblical creation. Instead, finding solid answers will be simple: God created these creatures to reproduce more of their own unique kind, not evolve into some other phylum.

These new Dendrogramma species might confront evolutionary ideas by setting the record for the longest-surviving, unevolving life form. And in that case, their still-living forms fit the idea of recent creation, and their fossils would, like countless other fossils, confirm a recent world-destroying flood.

References

  1. Just, J., R. M. Kristensen, and J. Olesen. 2014. Dendrogramma, New Genus, with Two New Non-Bilaterian Species from the Marine Bathyal of Southeastern Australia (Animalia, Metazoa incertae sedis) – with Similarities to Some Medusoids from the Precambrian Ediacara. PLoS ONE. 9 (9): e102976. 
  2. Thomas, B. Is the Cambrian Explosion Problem Solved? Creation Science Update. Posted on icr.org December 12, 2011, accessed November 25, 2014. 
  3. Thomas, B. Cambrian Fossil Intensifies Evolutionary Conundrum. Creation Science Update. Posted on icr.org September 26, 2014, accessed November 25, 2014. 

Image Credit: PLoS ONE. Adapted for use in accordance with federal copyright (fair use doctrine) law. Usage by ICR does not imply endorsement of copyright holders.

* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on December 8, 2014.

The Latest
NEWS
Earth-Sized Lava World ''Circling the Drain''
Astronomers have discovered an earth-sized exoplanet, designated TOI-2431 b, that is so close to its host star that it completes a full orbit in just...

NEWS
Origin of Biofluorescence in Fishes
Biofluorescence is a phenomenon in which creatures—plant or animal—absorb light at a certain wavelength and release or emit it at a different...

NEWS
August 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." (Galatians 6:9 NKJV) ICR's August...

NEWS
Quietly ''Devolving'' Tomatoes?
Apparently, evolution (and natural selection) can do almost anything: If new forms appear, the credit goes to creative natural selection; if old...

CREATION PODCAST
Five Unforgettable Lessons Learned from the Scopes Trial | The...
The Scopes Trial is one of the most famous court cases in American history, and this year marks its one hundredth anniversary....

NEWS
Yet Another Revised Age for the Land-Animal Ancestor
An allegedly vital piece of animal evolution was first discovered in 1984 in Scotland. Conventional scientists suggested the fossil of Westlothiana...

NEWS
Dr. James S. Johnson Goes Home to the Lord
Dr. James S. Johnson, chief academic officer and associate professor of apologetics for ICR’s School of Biblical Apologetics (SOBA), joined his...

NEWS
Pluto’s Largest Moon Looks Young
When the New Horizons space probe captured images of Pluto and its large moon Charon as it flew by in 2015, conventional scientists were surprised by...

NEWS
55-Million-Year-Old Tree Frog…Is Still a Tree Frog
In the 1990s, Australian paleontologists discovered fossil frog bones during a dig in Murgon, Queensland.1 This new species of frog—Litoria...

NEWS
Pastor and Longtime ICR Supporter Dr. John MacArthur Now with...
Faithful ICR supporter and pastor Dr. John MacArthur went home to be with the Lord on Monday, July 14, 2025, completing his 86-year pilgrimage.1...