Bicellum

Bicellum
Temporal range:
Multiple specimens of B. brasieri, such as the holotype (A)
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Clade: Amorphea
Clade: Obazoa
Clade: Opisthokonta
Clade: Holozoa
Genus: Bicellum
Species:
B. brasieri
Binomial name
Bicellum brasieri
Strother et al. 2021

Bicellum is a genus of fossil holozoans containing the single species Bicellum brasieri. It is one billion years old and could be the oldest example of complex multicellularity in the evolutionary lineage leading to the animals, and has been described as bridging "the gap between the very first living creatures — single-celled organisms — and more complex multicellular life." It was discovered in 2021, and is posthumously named after the late Martin Brasier, a paleontologist who was a co-author of the paper that first described it.