The earliest fossil records for most animals dates back to as early as 541 million years ago, but a new paper from the journal Nature claims that sponge fossils found in northwestern Canada could be 350 million years older.
A billion years ago, areas of northwestern Canada were known to be filled with marine life, unlike today where large mountainous areas define the region. The sponges found were likely preserved in mineral sediment, according to the paper.
Elizabeth Turner, the geologist who discovered the rocks in the Canadian region had been excavating in the area only accessible by helicopter since the 1980s. Turner was able to find the sponge fossil within thin sections of rock containing three-dimensional structures.
The layered rock dates the samples as being around 890 million years old. The current oldest undisputed sponge fossil found is 350 million years younger.
Scientists believe that life on Earth began 3.7 billion years ago and that animals appeared significantly later.
Though scientists remain skeptical of any animal dating back nearly a billion years ago, if it is proven, it would show that the first animals evolved before oxygen was prevalent in the Earth’s atmosphere.
With Wire News Services.
