Oldest Giant Sperm Found, Man Belongs length 23 time

Giant sperm 17 million years old discovered in Riversleigh site , near Queensland , Australia . Giant sperm belonged to group organisms ostracoda , similar crustaceans , sometimes called a seed shrimp .

Together sperm cells , also found Zenker organs , organ made ​​of chitin , serves to transfer sperm to the female , who preserved . Ostracoda sperm length 1.3 mm , slightly larger than the size ostracoda itself and 23 times greater than a human sperm ( about 0.055 mm ) .

" This is the oldest fossil ever found sperm , " said Mike Archer , a researcher School of Biology, Earth and Environment , University of New South Wales , which has been excavated Riversleigh for 35 years .

Story of the discovery of the oldest fossil sperm began when Archer and colleagues , Suzanne Hand and Henk Godthelp , collecting specimens of ostracoda Bitesantennary sites at Riversleigh in 1988 .

Samples were then sent to John Neil , a specialist ostracoda of La Trobe University . Neil works closely with other specialists , Renate Matzke - Karasz of the Ludwig Maximilian University , Munich , and Paul Tafforeau of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in France .

Microscopic analysis of the specimens showed that the organs in the creature is still in good condition . In the internal organs , scientists found a giant sperm cell and its nucleus containing the genetic material .

" About 17 million years ago , the site is a cave in the middle Bisantennary rain forest rich in biodiversity. Ostracoda who live in small puddles in the cave that is constantly enriched by the droppings of thousands of bats , " Archer said as quoted by Physorg , Wednesday ( 14/5 / 2014 ) .

Suzzane Hand , a bat expert extinct , said , bat droppings may also play an important role in preserving the giant sperm . Bat excrement make the water rich in phosphorus , triggering mineralization of soft tissues in ostracoda .

Various interesting findings resulting from excavations at Riversleigh . However , the findings in the form of sperm preserved along with the cell nucleus by Archer unexpected and special. Research published in the journal of the Royal Society B.