Fossils of ‘Dickinsonia’ found at Bhimbetka Updated: Updated: Discovery near Bhopal is of the earliest known animal about 550 million years old Share Article AAA Traces of past: The fossils of ‘Dickinsonia’ found at the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters, near Bhopal. | Photo Credit: RAMESH SUSARLA Discovery near Bhopal is of the earliest known animal about 550 million years old Researchers have discovered three fossils of the earliest known living animal — the 550-million-year-old ‘Dickinsonia’ — on the roof of the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters, about 40 km from Bhopal. One can identify the fossils from the white leaf-like patches with a central vertebra (central midrib) and connecting veins. While one fossil is 17 inches long, the other two are much smaller.