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Scientists have discovered a new fossil thought to be the earliest evidence of animals with muscles.

The unusual fossil, believed to date back from 560 million years ago, was found in Newfoundland, Canada. 

The research was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Scientists say they have discovered a new fossil thought to be the earliest evidence of animals with muscles. The unusual fossil, believed to date back from 560 million years ago, was found in Newfoundland, Canada. The impression of the muscle on the fossil can be seen in this image

Researchers believe it is part of the cnidarian group of animals such as corals, sea anemones and jellyfish because of its four-fold symmetry and similar characteristics.

It also appears to have some of the earliest impressions of muscular tissue. 

This could have important implications for the origin of animals, and may suggest they began to appear earlier than thought.

Scientists believe the origin, evolution and spread of animals began during the Cambrian Explosion - a period of rapid evolutionary development starting 541 million years ago when most major animal groups first appear in the fossil record. 

But in recent decades discoveries of preserved trackways, chemical evidence in older rocks and molecular comparisons have suggested animals have a much earlier origin.

'The problem is that although animals are now widely expected to have been present before the Cambrian Explosion, very few of the fossils found in older rocks possess features that can be used to convincingly identify them as animals,' said lead author Dr Alex Liu, of Cambridge University's department of Earth Sciences.

'Instead, we study aspects of their ecology, feeding or reproduction, in order to understand what they might have been.'

The new fossil, named Haootia quadriformis, dates from the Ediacaran Period - spanning 635 to 541 million years ago.

Experts believe it is one of the oldest fossils to show evidence of muscle anywhere in the world.

Dr Liu added: 'The evolution of muscular animals, in possession of muscle tissues that enabled them to precisely control their movements, paved the way for the exploration of a vast range of feeding strategies, environments, and ecological niches, allowing animals to become the dominant force in global ecosystems.' 

The new fossil, named Haootia quadriformis (illustration shown), dates from the Ediacaran Period - spanning 635 to 541 million years ago. Researchers believe it is part of the cnidarian group of animals such as corals, sea anemones and jellyfish because of its four-fold symmetry and morphological characteristics

Scientists believed the origin, evolution and spread of animals began during the Cambrian Explosion 541 million years ago, but in recent decades discoveries of preserved trackways, chemical evidence in older rocks and molecular comparisons in fossils like this (shown) have suggested animals have a much earlier origin