article_snippet: A 'nearly pristine' 600 million-year-old sponge has been uncovered in southern China.
article_snippet: A 'nearly pristine' 600 million-year-old sponge has been uncovered in southern ChinaChina.
article_snippet: The sponge, found in the Doushantuo Formation, is just over one millimetre in height and width, according to researchers from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology.
article_snippet: As well as being one of the oldest of the really old sponge fossils found, the find also represents one of the most pristine.
article_snippet: The researchers say The researchers have more material from the site where the sponge was found, and will be sifting through the sponge looking for more tiny sponges and perhaps other organisms.
article_snippet: The researchers say The researchers have more material from the site where the sponge was foundthe sponge , and will be sifting through the sponge looking for more tiny sponges and perhaps other organisms .
highlights_snippet: The sponge was found in the Doushantuo Formation in southern China .
  