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Scientists May Have Been Wrong About Earth’s Oldest Animal This Whole Time

The fossil record is ambiguous and may not always represent what you think.

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A 2017 archaeological discovery was small in stature but massive in significance. Researchers found fossilized worm-like creatures more than 500 million years old. At the time, they thought they had found some of the oldest animals ever discovered in the fossil record, a finding that may rewrite the timeline of early life on Earth. Fast forward to today, and a different team of scientists is arguing that the whole thing may have been a case of mistaken identity.

According to a new study published in Gondwana Research, the tiny fossils discovered in Corumbá, Brazil, are probably not traces left behind by ancient marine worms as previously thought. They think it might be colonies of algae and bacteria. If........

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