Middle School
Worksheets
First Fauna Fossils
Fauna is a term for animal life. In 1947, fossils of the first fauna were found in Australia. They were casts of soft-bodied organisms made of many cells.
Scientists believe these animals existed during the late Proterozoic Eon. The fossil record shows that many of these organisms lived between 670 and 570 million years ago. For millions of years before that, life was mostly single-celled.
There were many kinds of organisms in this group. Some floated about in the ocean. Others were attached to the ocean floor. They simply absorbed nutrients from the seawater in order to survive. There was no other life around to eat them, so they were safe floating or sitting in the ocean.
