Some of world’s oldest fossils found are 565 million years old

By Isobel Williams via SWNS

Some of the world's oldest fossils found in Wales have been precisely dated for the first time at 565 million years old.

Scientists say the remains of the first complex multicellular life capture a key moment in the evolution of life on Earth.

The fossils are helping to track the pivotal moment in history when the seas began teeming with new lifeforms - after four billion years of containing only single-celled organisms.

The fossils were found by researchers in the countryside of South West Wales in the Coed Cochion Quarry.

The creatures captured in these fossils are expected to have looked similar to jellyfish and cabbages.

To get their results, published in the Journal of the Geological Society, the researchers used volcanic ash layers like bookmarks to determine the fossil’s age.

Lead author Anthony Clarke, a PhD student at Curtin University, Australia, said: “Located in the Coed Cochion Quarry in Wales, which contains the richest occurrence of shallow marine life in Britain, we used outfall from an ancient volcano that blanketed the animals as a time marker to accurately date the fossils to 565 million years, accurate down to 0.1 percent.

“With similar Ediacaran fossils found at sites around the world including in Australia, dating the fossils identifies them as being part of an ancient living community that developed as Earth thawed out from a global ice age.

“These creatures would in some ways resemble modern day marine species such as jellyfish, yet in other ways be bizarre and unfamiliar.

"Some appear fern-like, others like cabbages, whereas others resembled sea pens.”

These fossils are named after the Ediacara Hills in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges, where they were first discovered, leading to the first new geological period established in over a century.

Co-author Professor Chris Kirkland added: “These Welsh fossils appear directly comparable to the famous fossils of Ediacara in South Australia.

“The fossils, including creatures like the disc-shaped Aspidella terranovica, showcase some of the earliest evidence of large-scale multicellular organisms, marking a transformative moment in Earth’s biological history.

“Ediacaran fossils record the response of life to the thaw out from a global glaciation, which shows the deep connection between geological processes and biology.

“Our study underscores the importance of understanding these ancient ecosystems in order to unravel the mysteries of Earth’s past and shape our comprehension of life’s evolution.”