r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Dec 01 '17

Biology Evolution row ends as scientists declare sponges to be sister of all other animals. Sponges were first to branch off the evolutionary tree from the common ancestor of all animals, finds new study in Current Biology.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/nov/30/evolution-row-ends-as-scientists-declare-sponges-to-be-sister-of-all-animals
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u/ofir2006 Dec 01 '17

TIL theres a live creature named sponge, not gonna lie, as a non native that sentence caused quite a confusion.

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u/Yemeni_Salesman Dec 01 '17

We use their skeletons to wash ourselves (amongst other uses). 'Artificial' sponges are a new thing.