China claims finding world's oldest fossils of multicellular eukaryotes

Chinese archaeologists found the oldest fossils of multicellular eukaryotes in the Yanshan Mountains of north China, state-run media reported on Friday.

A batch of fossils of multicellular eukaryotes was discovered which dates back to 1.63 billion years ago, setting the world's oldest record of such fossils, Xinhua News reported.

The newly found fossils consist of large uniseriate and unbranched filaments with cell diameters up to 190 micrometers, according to the report.

According to the details published in the journal Science Advances this week, the well-preserved microfossils, Qingshania magnifica, were found in the Yanshan Mountains of north China.

The discovery by researchers of Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences is another achievement as earlier in 2016 they also found decimeter-sized fossils of multicellular eukaryotes in this region, according to the agency.