Earth's First Animal Found: MIT Scientists Uncover 541 Million-Year-Old Sea Sponge

• Scientists at MIT identified the world's first animal: a simple sea sponge that existed over 541 million years ago.
• This discovery predates the Cambrian Explosion, pushing back the timeline for complex multicellular life.
• The identification relies on "chemical fossils" – C30 and C31 steranes – found in Precambrian rocks from Oman, Western India, and Siberia.
• These ancient steranes match compounds found in modern demosponges, confirming the soft-bodied, filter-feeding nature of the earliest animals.
• Led by Roger Summons, the research provides compelling evidence that sponges initiated the beginning of complex life on Earth.