Comments on: Methane-based ecosystems https://habitablezone.com/2013/05/29/methane-based-ecosystems/ Tue, 07 Apr 2026 19:18:10 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: ER https://habitablezone.com/2013/05/29/methane-based-ecosystems/#comment-24323 ER Thu, 30 May 2013 17:21:19 +0000 http://habitablezone.com/?p=33343#comment-24323 ...if any of the exotic life forms found in these extreme environments are descended from organisms which inhabited the earth when these conditions were more common, or if they are more modern life forms which have adapted to these isolated niches. If you find a fish, crustacean or a mollusc living there its pretty safe to assume they evolved from more conventional critters late in earth's history to exploit these conditions. But I wonder if any of the microbes, anaerobics, CH4 and H2S feeders etc may be survivors of earth's earliest life forms, relics from a time when the earth would have been toxic to us. …if any of the exotic life forms found in these extreme environments are descended from organisms which inhabited the earth when these conditions were more common, or if they are more modern life forms which have adapted to these isolated niches.

If you find a fish, crustacean or a mollusc living there its pretty safe to assume they evolved from more conventional critters late in earth’s history to exploit these conditions. But I wonder if any of the microbes, anaerobics, CH4 and H2S feeders etc may be survivors of earth’s earliest life forms, relics from a time when the earth would have been toxic to us.

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