SEDONA, Ariz. - s4story -- A 250 million year old dragon fossil was added to the PermianMuseum.com "On the Origin of Life and Biodiversity"  free online book.

The dragon was the culmination of three explosions of life on earth and shows a critical turning point in life becoming aware:

1) The Prokaryotic (Bacterial) Explosion of Life brought mitochondrial DNA to earth 3.8 Ba.  That allows us to store energy from aerobic respiration (metabolism of glucose).  Human mitochondria is a DNA reassortment from rickettsia, rhizobacteria, and agrobacteria.

Physiological life is a collection of concentration gradients.  It takes energy to maintain concentration gradients. Without mitochondria, life as we know it would not exist.

2) The Unicellular Eukaryotic Explosion of Life:  Eukaryotic cells appeared 1.5 Ba. They have multiple strands of DNA (not circular) and a single self-assembling lipid bilayer cell wall membrane, both of which facilitate DNA reassortment into new life forms under the right conditions.

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The most notable lineage was the Calcium Secreting Filter Feeders (CSFFs) that built  calcium structures that were able to host DNA reassortment in shallow coastal oceans.

3) The Multicellular Eukaryotic Explosion of Life - 500 Ma (Cambrian) and 250 Ma (Permian):

The earliest known multicellular life forms were microscopic nematodes (roundworms and eelworms) that appeared more than 500 Ma.  They are basically a mobile intestine, with a mouth, anus, and gonads (cells that produce haploid cells). They had a protective protein skin and two neurons running the length of the body connecting to muscle that allowed fish like motion.

Nematodes provided digestive, reproductive, muscle, nerve, and skin DNA.

The Cambrian explosion had unicellular and nematode DNA to work with to generate new life forms by DNA reassortment, followed by 250 million years of evolution.

The Permian explosion had the same input, plus the evolved Cambrian life forms that survived the Permian extinction events, including sharks, sting rays, reptiles and lung fish.  This allowed a more robust explosion of life that spawned the age of the dinosaurs and winged flight.  The winged dragon hails from the Permian Explosion of Life.

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Life Becomes Aware:

"The appearance of a brain cavity that was larger than necessary to house just neurons (shown in the sectioned specimen photo) allowed for integration and hyper-proliferation of astrocyte cells that interconnect neurons in a way that allows for propagation of the calcium ion wave which hosts the measurable electromagnetic phenomenon underlying consciousness and memory formation" according to Mark Zamoyski, the book's author.

Neurons make up 97% of a Leech brain.  In contrast, neurons only make up 10% of a human brain, and glial / astrocyte cells make up the rest.

PermianMuseum.com ( https://www.permianmuseum.com ) hosts the free online reference text  "On the Origin of Life and Biodiversity", authored by Mark Zamoyski.