The evolutionary events that allowed the rapid occurrence of metazoa are still enigmatic. The presumably oldest metazoan fossils are microscopic and occur just above 635 Ma, at the beginning of the ...

The Ediacaran period, 635 million to 542 million years ago, immediately predates the Cambrian period, which saw an evolutionary explosion that led to all modern animal phyla. Fossils from an Ediacaran ...

Tribrachidium heraldicum, one of the most enigmatic critters from the Ediacaran fauna. A new study has for the first time precisely dated some of the oldest fossils in the world, helping to track a ...

Aug. 21 (UPI) --New fossil analysis suggests the planet's earliest known animals emerged at least 571 million years ago. The new study -- published this month in the journal Paleontology-- proves ...

Ediacaran and early Cambrian strata in NW Canada contain abundant trace fossils that record the progressive development of complex behavior in early animal evolution. Five feeding groups can be ...

Fossils of the bilaterian Ikaria wariootia found in South Australia represent one of the oldest examples of an organism with anterior and posterior differentiation, according to a study. During the ...

Scientists discovered exceptionally preserved Ediacaran fossils in sandstone. (Image: Geology) Scientists solved how Ediacaran soft-bodied fossils survived in sandstone. Ancient seawater chemistry and ...