According to a research study by Cambridge scientists, the first animals to have ever reproduced sexually were the rangeomorphs, organisms that thrived in the oceans between 580 and 541 million years ago. Featuring an appearance similar to that of ferns, the rangeomorphs existed way before even when dinosaurs walked on the earth.
Researchers used different techniques like high-resolution GPS, spatial statistics and modelling, to examine the fossils of the Fractofusus, a type of rangeomorph, in order to understand how they reproduced. As they do not appear to have to have mouths, organs, or any means of moving, the organisms may have probably absorbed nutrients from the water around them. Observations have indicated that these organisms had a dual system of reproduction – both sexual and asexual. Studies suggest that the older specimens of rangeomorphs were possibly the product of mating followed by cloning their descendants asexually. The rangeomorphs became an extinct life form at the beginning of the Cambrian period.
