567-million-year-old fossils rewrite the dawn of animal life

Researchers in Canada's Northwest Territories have discovered a fossil site containing more than 100 specimens from the Ediacaran biota, soft-bodied organisms dating to approximately 567 million years ago. The fossils are 5–10 million years older than previously known White Sea assemblage specimens and represent the first such discovery in North America, suggesting that animal movement and sexual reproduction emerged earlier than prior evidence indicated. The findings, published in Science Advances, provide crucial insights into the earliest complex animals and indicate further discoveries may be possible in overlying rock layers.