Fossils discovered in Gabon, Africa, suggest that animals may have evolved 100 million years earlier than previously thought. The fossils, which are 650 million years old, belong to a group of creatures called bilaterians, which include all animals with bilateral symmetry, meaning they have a left and right side. The discovery of these fossils pushes back the timeline of animal evolution significantly, as the oldest known animal fossils before this discovery were only 550 million years old. Researchers believe that these newly discovered bilaterians may have been the ancestors of all animals, including humans.
