The common ancestor of humans may have had tentacles , a scientist has claimed . Organisms that lived in the sea 635 to 541 million years ago , from which humans and other animals evolved , likely had flexible appendages and a complex nervous system . It seemingly puts to bed another theory that suggests our ancestors were much more simple , worm-like creatures . A Russian scientist says the distant ancestor of humans had tentacles . One such creature can be seen at the centre of this illustration . They lived more than 540 million years ago and used them for food . It 's likely they also had a complex nervous system like we do today . The latest research was conducted by Dr Elena Temereva from the Department of Invertebrate Zoology at the Faculty of Biology of the Lomonosov Moscow State University . Today , humans and many other organisms are bilaterally symmetric - we have a clearly discernible top and bottom , and a left and a right . However , our distant ancestors hundreds of millions ago were not , with many of them thought to be worm-like creatures that swam in the seas or walked on the seafloor . A warming climate may have enabled the earliest humans to venture into Western Europe 1.4 million years ago , a new study suggests . Researchers believe that the spread of our distant human ancestors , the hominins , had been halted by colder and drier temperatures . But as conditions warmed , they were able to branch out from Africa into Spain , and ultimately spread across Europe . The research was led by Dr Jordi Agusti from the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies ( ICREA ) . How we evolved into bilateral creatures , and what we evolved from , has been a cause of some debate . One theory suggests that our common bilaterian ancestor was a worm without appendages and just a simple nervous system . Dr Temereva ’ s research , though , favours a different theory . She says that our ancestors had appendages - or tentacles - that were used for movement and food collection . And , she says , they also had a complex nervous system . To come to her conclusion she studied Lingula anatina , an ancient brachiopod found all over the world . Lingula is one of the oldest brachiopods having survived to the present day , originating in the Early Ordovician era 500 million years ago . For that reason , and as it has hardly changed over geological time , it is often referred to as a ‘ living fossil ’ of organisms in the distant past . Today , humans and many other organisms are bilaterally symmetric ; we have a clearly discernible top and bottom , and a left and a right - such as depicted in da Vinci 's The Vitruvian Man , shown left . Dr Elena Temereva came to her conclusion by studying the 'living fossil ' Lingula anatina , shown right . ‘ By virtue of the fact that there are tentacles among the two main taxons of bilaterally symmetrical animals , it is logical to assume that the common ancestor also had them , ’ said Dr Temereva . ‘ It means that the common ancestor of chordate animals [ such as mammals , fish and birds ] including people also had tentacles. ’ She said that , therefore , it could be assumed that our ancestors had tentacular appendages . It is hoped that this research will help to more accurately classify various species. # . The results are published in the journal Plos One .
Russian scientist says distant ancestor of humans had tentacles . They lived more than 540 million years ago and hunted them for food . It 's likely they also had a complex nervous system like we do today . yet another hypothesis that suggests our ancestors were more worm - like .