Using geology to better understand the ancient world and the origins of complex life. Research Fellow at the School of Geosciences, University of Sydney
Max Lechte
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This helps us to speculate about the habitats, life modes, & metabolism of some of the earliest eukaryotes known, and hopefully better understand the emergence of complex life on Earth. To read more, check out our article in @aunz.theconversation.com! ⚒️
@fossils.bsky.social identified over 12k fossils from a wide range of environments, & we found that eukaryotes were restricted to samples from oxygenated settings. Those with evidence for anoxic bottom waters had only prokaryotes, suggesting that the earliest fossil eukaryotes were benthic & aerobic
We used the geological record to address this gap in our understanding, by studying the oldest-known #eukaryote #fossils and their host rocks: single-celled microfossils with complex appendages from the 1.75-1.4 billion-year-old sedimentary successions of the Northern Territory, Australia
The innovation of the eukaryotic cell revolutionised the biosphere & transformed the planet, but the drivers behind this process remain debated. New paper out @natureportfolio.nature.com co-led by @fossils.bsky.social w/ Susannah Porter, Galen Halverson & Maggie Whelan @mcgillscience.bsky.social 🌎
Was great to chat to @evolutionsoup.bsky.social about the climate change in the Neoproterozoic and how it might have affected the biosphere. Thanks for having me! ⚒️
POUR LA VICTOIRE ‼️
THE MONTRÉAL VICTOIRE ARE THE 2026 PWHL WALTER CUP CHAMPIONS!
LA VICTOIRE DE MONTRÉAL SONT LES CHAMPIONNES DE LA COUPE WALTER 2026 DE LA LPHF!
Excited to say that my new paper with @maxlechte.bsky.social (and others not on bluesky) has come out in @nature.com! Study of sediments, geochemistry and fossils from rocks 1.75 to 1.4 billion years old indicate that the oldest known #eukaryotes were aerobic and benthic!
#protists
rdcu.be/fjNgL
The companies that drilled these cores decades ago couldn’t have known the scientific treasures inside.
Integrated palaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical analyses of ancient rocks from Australia show that early eukaryotes were largely restricted to oxygenated benthic habitats, probably posse...
Nature - Integrated palaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical analyses of ancient rocks from Australia show that early eukaryotes were largely restricted to oxygenated benthic habitats,...
