Oxford University study suggests earlier origin of animal life

A study led by the University of Oxford suggests that the history of life on Earth may need to be rewritten, as new data indicates animals may have appeared approximately 200 million years earlier than previously thought.

Researchers analyzed over 140 samples from the Kheseen Biota in Mongolia. While these microfossils did not definitively identify specific animal species, the findings suggest that animals were likely already present in other regions, such as Namibia and southern China, during that period. The team noted that a lack of fossils in certain deposits does not prove the absence of animals, as soft-bodied organisms are difficult to fossilize.

By applying the ‘molecular clock’ method—comparing genetic differences between current species—and using reference sites in Norway, Australia, and Arizona, researchers estimated the origin of animals to be between 700 and 800 million years ago. This timeline places their emergence potentially before the ‘Snowball Earth’ glacial period. Lead author Orin Lole Durbin noted that while the analysis pushes the timeline back, it does not provide absolute proof of animal existence at the 800-million-year mark.