Complex animals evolved up to 10 million years earlier than previously thought, fossil discovery shows

A trove of fossils uncovered in northwestern Canada suggests that complex animals evolved in North America earlier than previously thought. The site houses more than 100 fossils, including six taxa never found in North America before, with some dating back 567 million years.

Complex animals evolved up to 10 million years earlier than previously thought, fossil discovery shows. A trove of fossils uncovered in northwestern Canada suggests that complex animals evolved in North America earlier than previously thought. The site houses more than 100 fossils, including six taxa never found in North America before, with some dating back 567 million years. The findings push back the origins of animals that can move themselves in search of food by several million years, according to a study published May 20 in the journal Science Advances. Complex, multicellular animals first evolved during the Ediacaran period (635 million to 541 million years ago). At this time, North America was part of the ancient continent Laurentia, which predated the supercontinent Pangaea. Some of these early animals from the Ediacaran are link...