News Paleontology

What may be one of Earth’s earliest animals has a punk rock vibe

Remains once thought to be decomposed material could be spongelike creatures, researchers say

This illustration shows what some ancient animals might have looked like. Golden-brown squiggly projections cover its top and it's drawn lying atop of a punk bumpy surface.

This illustration shows what one of Earth’s earliest animals — a newly identified spongelike creature named after a punk rocker due to its spiky appearance — might have looked like. It’s shown here settled on top of another organism.

Duncan McIlroy

By Danielle Beurteaux

Being a punk rocker means being perpetually misunderstood.