• RedAggroBest@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    21 days ago

    So from the wiki

    The monophyly of Xenacoelomorpha soon became established, but its position as either a basal bilaterian clade or a deuterostome remained unresolved until 2016, when two new studies, with increased gene and taxon sampling, again placed Xenoturbella as the sister group of Acoelomorpha within Xenacoelomorpha, and placed Xenacoelomorpha as sister to Nephrozoa (Protostomia plus Deuterostomia), and therefore the basalmost bilaterian phylum<

    Seems like “where on the tree of life” is “the first bilaterals” which makes sense. They seem very worm-like in bodyplan. Shit from the Pre-Cambrian can look pretty alien and have shaky relationships to more derived species.

  • Pyr@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    21 days ago

    “existing for no clear reason”

    So like every other life form we know of?

  • db2@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    21 days ago

    No clear reason? It’s because the thing can successfully make more of itself before dying. That’s literally it.

    See also: ticks

  • TurboQueer@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    21 days ago

    It’s disturbing to me that so many people search for what something is used for or what’s the value or right to life a creature has. The point of life is to live. If you are successful you maybe make a child or split into a copy of yourself when you get enough food.

    Purpose is something you accept for yourself. Imposing it on others is diabolically evil when they don’t have a thing to do with your clade. And still, it would be the case that a person would look at an animal and say “what’s the point of you?”

    • NottaLottaOcelot@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      21 days ago

      I also find that to be a weird question to consider, as though something must have a purpose to be worthy of existence

      In that vein, what is the point of humans? To bring on the 6th mass extinction?