From the sandstone cliffs of continental Europe to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean , something has been leaving its dazzlingly geometric Gospel According to Mark since the dawn of complex life . Despite find thousands of these perfect honeycomb - forge dodo , however , scientists are wholly puzzle as to what eccentric of creature could maybe have been develop the design for such an unimaginably retentive time .
astonishingly , the earliest known criminal record of these gonzo shapes can be found inLeonardo Da Vinci ’s Paris Manuscript I. Amongst a series of sketches of marine fogy sit a drawing of a tie grid of perfect hexagons , which scientists later on linked to an ancient puppet calledPaleodictyon nodosum .
The first strong-arm traces of this enigmatic being were discovered in sedimentary rocks that once sit at the bottom of an ocean during the Eocene , some 55 to 35 million eld ago . consist of a net - similar series of tunnels and shafts that link up up to spring honeycomb arrangements , P. nodosumhas now been found in dry - up sediment across Europe , with the oldest specimens having been date to the Welsh Period , close to 500 million years ago .
What scientists ca n’t figure out , however , is whether these prehistorical impressions are only burrow made in the ancient seafloor by some bottom - home brute , or an imprint of the being itself . As if another layer of machination were required , research worker subsequently made the head - blowing discovery that the Maker of these arrant figure may still exist at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean .
While exploring an underwater spate range call the Mid - Atlantic Ridge in the 1970s , scientist start noticingarrangements of low holes in the ocean floorthat wait very much like the hexagonal plan associated withPaleodictyon . It took until 2003 , however , for researchers to in the end bet beneath the o.k. layer of junk and sediment that hide whatever was prepare the holes .
To their amazement , the researchers found honeycomb - shaped networks of subsurface tunnel that wereidentical toP. nodosum . However , after recollect several sample from depths of around 3,500 meters ( 11,500 feet ) , scientist were frustrated to find that the hexangular tunnel were entirely empty of any being , either live or dead . Even more infuriatingly , no traces of DNA could be discover within the tunnel .
What all this means is that we have absolutely no idea what is generating these mesmerizing shape , which appear to have been in continual production for around 500 million years . We still do n’t even know if the final - like system are burrows or the imprint of some sponge - like creature .
With no option but to speculate , researchers have hypothecate thatPaleodictyonmay represent a cast left behind by organisms similar to glass parasite or giant , single - celled creatures recognise as xenophyophores . An alternative theory states that the net are actually the remain ofabandoned nests , and that the burrows are produced by hatchling making their way through the sediment .
Yet another account posits that the clandestine burrow may represent a kind of " farm " , built by some strange tunnel louse to trammel and cultivate the bacteria it feed on .
Ultimately , though , none of these surmisal are free of golf hole , which imply that whatever it is , Paleodictyonhas us completely stumped .
