Discover the oldest fossil animal footprint ever

The rock contains fossil footprints discovered in China's Three Gorges can dating from 541 to 551 million years.

A group of Chinese and American paleontologists yesterday announced the discovery of the oldest fossil animal footprint ever in the Three Gorges canyon area on the Changjiang River. The fossil track is thought to date from the Ediacara era, a geologic era in the Proterozoic, about 541-635 million years ago today, AFP reported.

The oldest animal fossil footprint is found in China.(Photo: AFP).

According to Zhe Chen, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, co-author of the study, the rock contains fossil footprints dating to about 541 - 551 million years, at least 10 million earlier. years compared to the oldest fossil footprints ever known.

Creatures that leave fossil footprints in the Three Gorges can not seem to die nearby. Scientists say no fossil body remains, so they cannot conclude which animal has produced these footprints.

However, the team found that the footprints they left were uneven, very close and not symmetrical between the two rows, so it was more likely to be created by the appendages of arthropods and worms. Ancient burning. In invertebrate biology, the appendage is a prolonged part of the body, growing from the body of the organism: legs, swimming legs, jaw legs, steering plate, beard or tail.