Scientists find first sexually active species

Scientists believe a rope-like organism that lived on the seabed up to 570 million years ago was the first creature on earth to have sex.

Researchers studying ancient fossils think a peculiar animal called Funisia dorothea was sexually active 30 million years before any other.

The primitive love-making experience is unlikely to have been earth-moving for the animals – but it has sent scientists around the world into a fluster of excitement.

Mary Droser, a professor at the University of California, said: “In Funisia, we are very likely seeing sexual reproduction in Earth’s early ecosystem - possibly the very first instance of sexual reproduction in animals on our planet.”

She said analysis of the “rope-resembling organism”, which appears as 12 inch tubes in the fossils, could provide vital clues about the origin of ecosystems.

The remains of the creature, which would have stood erect in a shallow, sandy seabed, were excavated from what is now the Australian outback.

Fellow expert Rachel Wood, of the University of Edinburgh, said: “The fact that Funisia shows close-packed growth on the sea floor allows us to infer that this organism reproduced sexually.

“This is how many primitive animals, such as sponges and corals, reproduce and grow today.”

Funisia dorothea covered the sea floor during what is known as the Neoproterozoic period, which lasted 100 million years and ended around 540 million years ago.

The creatures reproduce by floating eggs and sperm in the water. The fossilised remains reveal that the creatures formed buds that grew into animals, research has found.