For decades, scientists could not agree on whether to classify the Dickinsonia as an animal or not — until this new study showed that it is actually the oldest known animal.

Dickinsonia, seen here as a fossil, is Earth’s oldest confirmed animal. It was first discovered 75 years ago, with researchers arguing over whether it was an animal, ...

Dickinsonia was found to contain a “striking abundance” of cholesterol – 93%, compared to levels of just 10.6% and 11.9% found in the deposits immediately above and below the fossil.

More: Fossil shows 'strange' turtle from 228 million years ago had no shell While the Dickinsonia is now considered among the oldest known animals on Earth, there are other creatures scientists ...

Importantly, the Dickinsonia fossil was bereft of ergosteriods—a biomarker indicative of fungal life. Other organisms, such as choanoflagellates and filastereans (simple, amoeba-like organisms ...

Scientists have discovered that 558 million-year-old Dickinsonia fossils do not reveal all of the features of the earliest known animals, which potentially had mouths and guts.

Dickinsonia fossils, found in Australia and Russia, range in size from a fingernail to some 1.22 metres long. Scientists say they've confirmed that these fossils from more than 500 million ...

(CNN) -- The oldest known animal in the geological record has been identified, in a discovery that scientists are calling "the Holy Grail of palaeontology." Fat molecules discovered on the fossil ...

It’s not clear when Dickinsonia lived, but well-dated fossils are 558 million years old, said Jochen Brocks of the Australian National University in Canberra, a study author.

NEW YORK — Scientists say they’ve confirmed that puzzling fossils from more than 500 million years ago are traces of an animal.

Besides high levels of cholesterol, the fossil was lacking in chemical markers known to be associated with fungi. “Scientists have been fighting for more than 75 years over what Dickinsonia and ...

Scientists discovered the first-ever Dickinsonia fossil in India two years ago, changing our understanding of how the continent came to be. Now, new research shows the 'fossil' was just a beehive ...