NEW YORK — Scientists say they’ve confirmed that puzzling fossils from more than 500 million years ago are traces of an animal. The fossils are impressions in rock: oval shapes with internal lines, looking somewhat like a leaf imprint densely packed with veins. In the past, scientists have suggested it’s an animal, lichen or a huge example of a single-celled organism called protists. The key evidence was finding that Dickinsonia fossils from Russia contained carbon-bearing substances produced by animals. Whether they’re the oldest known animal fossils is a tricky question, because some older rock features have also been interpreted by some researchers as fossils of animals, he said.

Source: National Post September 20, 2018 18:11 UTC