![]() During this time, life evolved from simple multicellular structures such as microbial mats and into more complex forms.įor instance, Ikaria wariootia is one of the earliest known bilaterians, which are animals possessing a head, tail and gut. The Ediacaran is a period of history which lasted from around 635 to 540 million years ago. The description of the fossil was published in Nature Ecology and Evolution. ![]() Scientists hope that the discovery will be the first of many revealing what the earliest animal life would have looked like. ![]() 'It's nothing like anything else we’ve found in the fossil record at the time.' attenboroughii, however, clearly has a skeleton with densely packed tentacles that would have waved around in the water capturing passing food, much like corals and sea anemones do today.' 'Most other fossils from this time have extinct body plans and it's not clear how they are related to living animals. The lead author of a paper describing its fossil, Dr Frankie Dunn, says, 'This is very different to the other fossils in Charnwood Forest and around the world.' attenboroughii is thought to be one of the first cnidarians, a group including coral and jellyfish, and dates back over 560 million years. The new species, Auroralumina attenboroughii, was discovered in Charnwood Forest, a site which has long been recognised for its scientifically important fossils. ![]() The earliest known animal with a skeleton has been discovered in Leicestershire, UK. ![]()
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