Earth Ediacaran-period microfossils – Ediacaran-period microfossils in Brazil reveal that suspected traces of ancient small animals were actually fossilized bacteria and algae. (AI: Image created using OpenAI) A new study claims that fossils previously seen as traces of early forms of small animals were actually communities of algae and bacteria. Researchers studying microfossils in Brazil found that they contained cellular structures like those of microorganisms.

Earlier studies had shown that these structures might have been ancient worm-like creatures or marine animals from the Ediacaran period. What is study? “We observed that the microfossils contain cellular structures – sometimes with preserved organic material – that match bacteria or algae present during that period. These are not traces of animals that would have passed through the area,” the scientific research portal Science Direct quoted Bruno Becker-Kerber, first author of the study, as saying.