Fossil of ‘earliest animal predator’ is named after David Attenborough

The fossilised sea creature that is thought to represent Earth's earliest animal predator will continue to bear his name 100 years from now.

The creature was found in Charwood Forest, where Attenborough hunted for fossils as a kid.

The Palaeontologist named it Auroralumina attenboroughii in honor of the TV host. The first part of its name is Latin for dawn lantern, which is a reference to its age and resemblance to a burning torch.

Dinosaurs adapted to cold.

The fossils of Charnwood Forest are well-known. He avoided the rocks where Auroralumina has been found because he was a child. They were thought to be so old that they were dating before life began on the planet. He didn't look for fossils there.

A fern-like impression was discovered by a younger boy at the school. The discovery was named Charnia masoni in honor of Mason.

He has more than 40 species named after him, ranging from a Madagascan dragonfly to a dandelion-like hawkweed.

A team of researchers from the British Geological Survey spent more than a week in Charnwood Forest, cleaning a 100sq-metre rock surface with toothbrush and pressure jets, before using a rubber mould to capture an Auroralumina fossil.

The British Geological Survey used small radioactive minerals in the surrounding rock to date the fossil.

The first of its kind, the 560m-year-old specimen is related to modern corals and anemones. It throws into question when modern groups of animals appeared on Earth.

It has been held that modern animal groups appeared 540 million years ago. The predator was discovered by the British Geological Survey's Dr Phil Wilby.

The earliest creature to have a skeleton is this one. It is exciting to know that there are others who hold the key to when complex life began.

The study was carried out by a Dr from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

She said that the body plans of other fossils from this period bear no relation to those of living animals.

The fossils found in Charnwood are from shallow water. All of the fossils on the cleaned rock surface were anchored to the seafloor and knocked over by a deluge of volcanic ash sweeping down the submerged foot of the volcano. It lies at an odd angle and appears to have been swept down the slope in the flood.