TIME

First Animals

Approximately 800–600 million years ago

The ribbed, oval impression of Dickinsonia, an Ediacaran animal, in reddish-brown rock.

Earth & LifeFirst Animals

Animals appear in ancient oceans.

The earliest animals evolved in ancient oceans, and multicellular life grew gradually more complex.

Molecular studies suggest animals began to diverge around 800 million years ago. Convincing body fossils are younger and still debated, so the span is an estimate.

Approximately 800–600 million years ago, placed on the scale of its era on a line leading toward now.

Era
Earth & Life
Period
Approximately 800–600 million years ago
Edition
1/1
Status
Not Released
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Background artwork

Cinematic background showing soft-bodied early animals on a sunlit seabed. An illustration generated with an AI image tool for TIME. It is an artistic depiction, not a photograph or a record of the moment. Their forms are reconstructed from fossils.