97‑Million‑Year‑Old Fossils Suggest Ancient Ocean Creature Used Earth’s Magnetic Field as Built‑in GPS

Scientists have uncovered 97‑million‑year‑old fossils that contain magnetic structures, the oldest evidence yet that an animal may have used Earth’s magnetic field for navigation. The fossils, found in marine deposits, show a sophisticated arrangement of magnetic minerals that could have enabled an unknown ocean creature to steer over thousands of kilometres with remarkable precision. This discovery pushes back the earliest known use of geomagnetic navigation by animals by tens of millions of years, offering new insight into the evolution of sensory systems in prehistoric marine life.