Oldest animal footprint

2002/05/10 Imaz Amiano, Eneko - Elhuyar Zientziaren Komunikazioa

• Biologia
• Zoologia
• Paleontologia
• Arkeologia

In April, in a dune of about 530 million years, fossilized footprints were discovered in southeast Canada. The animals would be euticinides, 16-22 feet, with fines and about 50 cm in length. However, researchers recognize that this type of sediment is difficult to date.

At the beginning of May, in Beijing, China, the oldest fossil of angiosperms was discovered, that is, of plants with flowers, about 124.6 million years ago. The plant was baptized as Archaefructus sinensis. Its characteristics would be: aquatic, about 50 cm long and flowers outside the surface.

Finally, today we have known the remains of older animals. Remains of 1,000-1,200 million years ago have been found in Australia. They could be manufactured by some kind of sand or worm. The millimeter is wide and has several centimeters in length and some are narrower than others. The forms, abundance and confusion of the marks have come to the conclusion that they are remnants of some living being and not geological remains. Stefan Bengtson, author of the finding, believes that the "cell group or association" would be more than a multi-cell animal of complex organization.