Fossils of an extinct species of animal Dickinsonia, that scientists reported in a sensational discovery from Madhya Pradesh’s Bhimbetka Rock Shelters in 2021 have been found to be a false alarm.
- Gregory Retallack, the lead author of the February 2021 paper that reported the discovery, has acknowledged that they are planning to correct their paper after a closer look at the site revealed the apparent fossil to really be wax smeared on a rock by a bee hive.
- Dickinsonia is an extinct primitive animal that inhabited seabeds around what is today Australia, China, Russia, Ukraine, in the Ediacaran period, 600-500 million years ago. It was classified as an animal after discovery of cholesterol molecules in the fossils.
- It is believed to be one of the earliest animals to have existed on earth.
- Dickinsonia fossils in other parts of the world have indicated it was circular or oval in shape, somewhat flat, with rib-like structures radiating from a central column.
- Dickinsonia is “an iconic member” of the Ediacaran period and “an important age marker”.
- The Bhimbetka Rock Shelters are famous for their cave paintings, some of which have been dated to 8,000 B.C.
