Scientists say they have confirmed that strange-looking fossils from more than 500 million years ago are remains of an animal.科学家说，他们已经确认，超过5亿年前的奇怪化石是动物的遗体。

That would make it one of the earliest known creatures.那将使它成为最早的已知生物之一。

The fossils are found within rocks. They are round with many lines, and look similar to the markings of a leaf.化石在岩石中发现。 它们的圆形有许多线条，看起来与叶子的标记相似。

The fossils were first described in 1947. They have been found in Australia and Russia. Some are very small; others are over a meter long.这些化石于1947年首次描述。它们在澳大利亚和俄罗斯发现。 有些很小； 其他人则超过一米。

Scientists have named the mysterious ancient organism that left these fossils behind “Dickinsonia.”科学家将神秘的古代有机体命名为，将这些化石留在了“狄金森尼亚”之后。

But what exactly was it?但是到底是什么？

In the past, some scientists suggested it was an animal. Others believed it was a single-celled organism called a protist.过去，一些科学家认为这是动物。 其他人则认为这是一种称为put虫的单细胞生物。

Researchers presented evidence that Dickinsonia was an animal in a recent paper. The paper appeared in the publication Science.研究人员提供了证据，表明狄金森尼亚是最近的一篇论文中的动物。 该论文出现在出版科学中。

The most important evidence was that Dickinsonia fossils found in Russia contained carbon-bearing substances produced by animals.最重要的证据是，在俄罗斯发现的狄金尼亚化石中含有动物产生的碳含量。

Experts not connected to the study called that evidence strong. They also said most scientists who had studied the fossils already believed that Dickinsonia was probably an animal.与研究没有联系的专家称这证据很强烈。 他们还说，大多数研究化石的科学家已经相信狄金森尼亚可能是动物。

Douglas Erwin is with the Smithsonian Institution. He said he is sure the fossils are from an animal.道格拉斯·埃文（Douglas Erwin）与史密森尼机构在一起。 他说，他确定化石来自动物。

It is not clear when Dickinsonia lived. Some fossils are about 558 million years old, said Jochen Brocks of the Australian National University in Canberra. He was one of the researchers involved in the study.目前尚不清楚迪金森尼何时居住。 堪培拉澳大利亚国立大学的Jochen Brocks说，一些化石的历史了约5.58亿年。 他是参与研究的研究人员之一。

Brocks considers Dickinsonia to be “the very oldest animal that we can be sure about. He added that it is about 2 million years older than another widely accepted animal fossil.布罗克（Brocks）认为狄金森尼亚（Dickinsonia）是“我们可以确定的最古老的动物。他补充说，它比另一种被广泛接受的动物化石大约200万年。

Brocks said scientists do not know much about what Dickinsonia looked like. But he said they do know it was “soft and flexible.”布罗克斯说，科学家对狄金森尼的样子不太了解。 但是他说他们确实知道这是“柔软而灵活的”。

Dickinsonia was not the first animal on Earth. Analysis of the genetic materials of living animals suggests that animals first appeared more than 720 million years ago. But scientists have never found fossils that old.狄金森尼亚不是地球上的第一只动物。 对活动物的遗传材料的分析表明，动物首先出现在7.2亿年前。 但是科学家从未发现化石那么古老。