New Oxford study suggests animals originated far earlier than fossil record shows

A recent study published in Science Advances, conducted by scientists at Oxford University, challenges the conventional view that animals first appeared around 590 million years ago. Analyzing more than 140 rock samples from Mongolia's Biota Kheseen formation—significantly older than the Chinese Weng’an deposits—the researchers discovered new microfossils, including spiny spherical forms and embryo-like structures, though none can be conclusively classified as animals.

The authors suggest that early animals may have lived in regions like Namibia and southern China, where chemical conditions hindered fossilization. To bolster their claim, the team employed a molecular-clock approach, comparing genetic divergences among living species and referencing ancient sedimentary deposits from Norway, Australia, and Arizona. Their calculations point to an animal origin considerably earlier than the fossil record indicates, implying that the earliest animals were small, soft-bodied organisms that left few traces. The study cautions that these findings do not constitute direct proof of animals existing that far back, but they open the possibility of a much deeper evolutionary history.