Scientists Have Found the First Branch on the Tree of Life. “The sister to all other animals, the first to branch off, and the most genetically isolated animal is … drumroll please … the comb jelly!” https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a65941344/scientists-find-the-first-branch-on-tree-of-life/
Scientists Have Found the First Branch on the Tree of Life

Scientists have discovered which animal was the first to branch off from our collective common ancestor.

Popular Mechanics
@kottke Mind-blowing! 🧬 The fact that comb jellies branched off before sponges flips the whole ‘simplest to complex’ assumption on its head. Nature is way stranger and more creative than we give it credit for.