Scientists discover lost world of early ancestors in billion-year-old rock

Eukaryotes have a complex cell structure that includes mitochondria – known as the powerhouse of the cell, and a nucleus that acts as the control and information centre

The researchers suggest the organisms could have been the first predators on Earth (Australian National University/PA)

The discovery of a lost world of ancient organisms that lived in Earth’s waterways at least 1.6 billion years ago could change scientists’ understanding of our earliest ancestors, new research has suggested.

Known as the Protosterol Biota, the microscopic creatures are part of a family of organisms called eukaryotes.