Biologists used principles of computational fluid dynamics and found that Tribrachidium, a tri-radially symmetrical fossil creature that lived during the late Ediacaran seas, was a suspension feeder. The animal ate floating food particles from its surrounding water.

The biologists used computer models to simulate the feeding behavior of Tribrachidium. The mysterious extinct organism’s link to today’s species has baffled scientists for a long time. Before the new findings, scientists believed that the organism that lived on the planet millions of years ago formed simple ecosystems.

The new findings published in the journal Science Advances have overturned the earlier beliefs about the mysterious creature. Simon Darroch from Vanderbilt University said in a statement that previously, it was assumed that the planet’s ancient complex organisms were dependent on just one or two different feeding methods.

“Our study has shown this to be untrue, Tribrachidium and perhaps other species were capable of suspension feeding. This demonstrates that, contrary to our expectations, some of the first ecosystems were actually quite complex”, Darroch explained.

The findings have suggested that our home planet’s earliest ecosystems were more complex than previously thought. But plenty of things about the earliest ecosystems are still a mystery for paleontologists. Still, researchers are excited about the things the new findings have revealed.

Imran Rahman, a paleontologist from the University of Bristol and an author of the new findings, said the computer simulations ran by the biologists allowed them to find about Tribrachidium’s feeding behavior. The method could be helpful in knowing more about other extinct organisms, Rahman added.