Charnia

Charnia Masoni
Charnwood Forest

What the forest was once composed of 
   ... 600 million years ago
      ... under a tropical sea
         ... in the Ediacaran period (early Precambrian eon)

Once coined the 'tree of life' this fossil was in fact a benthic sea animal, much like todays sea pens. It was the oldest large multi-cellular fossil in the world at the time of its discovery. Specimens have been found almost up to a metre in length.

This is a cast of the original fossil found by a schoolboy rock climbing in 1957. Is is the holotype for the species and has since been found in other areas of the world.