Fossils of world’s first animals found in Namibia

Published on February 10th, 2012 | by Sevaan Franks

Scientists say that the sponge-like fossils recently uncovered in Namibia are the world’s first animals, a discovery which pushes back the emergence of life by millions of years.

The tiny vase-shaped creatures’ fossils were found in Namibia’s Etosha National Park and other sites around the country in rocks between 760 and 550 million years old, a 10-member team of international researchers said in a paper published in the South African Journal of Science.

That means animals, previously thought to have emerged 600 million to 650 million years ago, actually appeared 100 million to 150 million years before that, the authors said.

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Story: Physorg | Photo: Physorg

Tags: Fossils, Namibia, Sponges