Discover the oldest animal in Earth

Scientists at the University of St. Andrews (England), discovered fossils of a tiny sponge-like creature, was named Otavia antiqua, on a rock of about 760 million years old in coastal areas in Nammibia.

Fossils of organisms Otavia antiqua under a microscope

'Fossils found very small, about the size of a grain of sand' , said Dr. Anthony Prave, head of research, on National Geographic . 'We found hundreds of their fossils.'

Based on the location of fossil foundations, the team thinks that Otavia organisms live in calm waters, in coastal lagoons and other shallow waters. Their food can be algae and bacteria.

Analysis of fossil samples found, scientists also identified Otavia organisms exist on Earth about 2 million years and have lived through the Earth period almost covered with snow and ice.

Despite their small size, scientists believe that Otavia is important, because they can be the first multicellular animals on Earth. Otavia may be the ancestor of giant animals like dinosaurs and humans.

The oldest animal discovered on Earth before was another primitive sponge, called 'metazoan' . Fossils found in this species date back about 650 million years. They had separate skin and other organs.