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Bill Offline OP
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Lack of oxygen delayed the rise of animals on Earth One theory about why it took so long for complex life forms to evolve was that there wasn't enough oxygen to support complex animal life. There has been some uncertainty about the actual oxygen level. Studies showed a range of possible levels up to 40% of current levels. That could have been enough to support complex animals. This link from Science Daily Magazine is a report on a new measurement of the level of oxygen in the atmosphere before 600 M years ago. The study reported on shows a level of oxygen less than 0.1% of what it is today. The investigators used a new method to determine the level. If they are correct then the delay in the development of complex animal life is easily explained.

Bill Gill


C is not the speed of light in a vacuum.
C is the universal speed limit.
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There are bacteria which use methane (CH4). What stopped them from evolving into complex, methane breathing higher forms of life? Animals as we know them use Glucose (C6H12O6) and other sugars, made by plants and bacteria. If there would have been macroscopic life forms that breathed methane, they would have been killed off by the gradual oxygenation of the air. Maybe we should be looking closely at the fossil record during the time that the Earth was shrouded in methane. You won't find any seashells, they require Calcium and Carbon Dioxide. I wonder if you might find some evidence of simple animals that relied on methane for their respiration.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110308141115.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130925132317.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140904121245.htm


If you don't care for reality, just wait a while; another will be along shortly. --A Rose

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Bill Offline OP
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The problem there of course is just finding fossils that old. And if they didn't have shells that would make it even more difficult. Soft bodied life forms don't fossilize well. And then there is the question of whether a methane metabolism would have the energy available to create complex life forms. I'm not sure how much energy is required for the development of more complex creatures.

Bill Gill


C is not the speed of light in a vacuum.
C is the universal speed limit.

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