Scientists say they've confirmed that puzzling fossils from more than 500 million years ago are traces of an animal. This undated photo provided by Ilya Bobrovskiy in September 2018 shows a fragment from a Dickinsonia fossil. 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. He considers Dickinsonia "the very oldest animal that we can be sure about," but added that it edges out another widely accepted animal fossil by only about two million years. Analysis of DNA of living animals suggests animals appeared more than 720 million years ago, although fossil evidence that old is lacking.

Source: CBC News September 20, 2018 19:18 UTC