Jellyfish Jellyfish are the oldest multi-organ animal in the world and have existed in some form for at least 500 million years. The oldest known definitive jellyfish fossil dates back to 500 million years.

Which animal groups have the longest fossil record?

The oldest fossilized evidence of animals has been unearthed in Oman and reveals that tiny sea sponges were abundant 635 million years ago, long before most of the planets other major animal groups evolved, according to a new analysis.

What has the longest fossil record?

cyanobacteria The cyanobacteria have an extensive fossil record. The oldest known fossils, in fact, are cyanobacteria from Archaean rocks of western Australia, dated 3.5 billion years old. This may be somewhat surprising, since the oldest rocks are only a little older: 3.8 billion years old!

What is the oldest known animal fossil?

890-million-year-old sponge fossil may be the earliest animal yet found. A set of curious fossils may be ancient sponges—relatives of the great bathing sponge shown here—which would make them the oldest fossilized animals ever found.

What mammal has been around the longest?

Some confirmed sources estimate bowhead whales to have lived at least to 211 years of age, making them the oldest mammals.

Are sharks older than trees?

You might be surprised to learn that sharks are older than trees as theyve been around for at least 400 million years. The earliest shark teeth are from early Devonian deposits, some 400 million years old, in what today is Europe.

What is the oldest human fossil found?

Apidima 2 was found to be around 170,000 years old, which is consistent with the age of other Neanderthal fossils in Europe. But Apidima 1 was dated to 210,000 years ago, making it by far the oldest Homo sapiens fossil found on the continent.

What animal do scientist think was the very first animal on Earth?

sea sponge Not only have MIT biologists discovered the very first animal on Earth, theyve found that it existed 250 million years earlier than previously thought. New research shows that the simple sea sponge was the very first animal on Earth. Its been confirmed: the first animal to ever evolve on Earth is… the sea sponge.

What is the oldest animal alive today?

Although it can be hard to tell exactly how old some species are and scientists are confident that they still havent uncovered nearly all the fossils that could be found, most scientists agree that the oldest living species still around today is the horseshoe crab.

What are the first animals?

These clusters of specialized, cooperating cells eventually became the first animals, which DNA evidence suggests evolved around 800 million years ago. Sponges were among the earliest animals.