The oldest townies? Ancient fossils from downtown St. John's come home

They were discovered on Duckworth Street in the heart of downtown St. John's, in the kind of rocky outcrop still visible on the street today. They're about half a billion years old and were among the first multicellular life to appear on planet Earth.

And now, for the first time in more than a century, they've come home.

Fossils of an ancient organism called an aspidella are now on display at The Rooms museum in St. John's. A team from Memorial University requested the fossils from the Geological Survey of Canada in Ottawa, where the fossils were sent shortly after being discovered in the mid 1800's.

The paleontologist who first studied them named the creature Aspidella terranovica, or "little shield from Newfoundland."

Watch the video below to get a closer look, and learn the fascinating story behind their discovery:

See these 'ancient townies': Aspidella fossils from downtown St. John’s

2 years ago

Duration 2:42

They were one of the first multicellular life forms on the planet, and their fossils were discovered on Duckworth Street in downtown St. John’s. Say hello to Aspidella, and learn why they’re kind of a big deal.

"When we say fossils, we often think of dinosaurs, petrified bones and teeth," said Nathalie Djan-Chekar, manager of natural history collections at The Rooms.

"These are different. They are actually impressions in the rock of the body of an ancient organism."

That organism may have looked like a modern sea anemone, but Djan-Chekar says that's just our current best guess. Even though the fossils have been studied for so long, Djan-Chekar says they still have lots to teach us.

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