Dickinsonia, one of the oldest animal fossils from the Ediacara Biota, Ediacaran Rawnsley Quartzite Formation, Australia. But although rocks from the early Neoproterozoic contain fossil microorganisms, such as bacteria and protists, no animal fossils have been found. Or were animals present during the early Neoproterozoic, but too soft and fragile to be preserved? Credit: Ross Anderson / University of Oxford. The analysis revealed that most did not have the compositions necessary for BST preservation.
