Editing Carnivore (section)

===Proterozoic origin===
The earliest predators were [[microorganism]]s, which engulfed and "swallowed" other smaller [[cell (biology)|cell]]s (i.e. [[phagocytosis]]) and [[intracellular digestion|digested them internally]]. Because the earliest fossil record is poor, these first predators could date back anywhere between 1 and over 2.7&nbsp;[[bya]] (billion years ago).<ref name=Bengtson-2002-10/>

The rise of [[eukaryotic]] cells at around 2.7&nbsp;bya, the rise of multicellular organisms at about 2&nbsp;bya, and the rise of [[motile]] predators (around 600&nbsp;Mya – 2&nbsp;bya, probably around 1&nbsp;bya) have all been attributed to early predatory behavior, and many very early remains show evidence of boreholes or other markings attributed to small predator species.<ref name=Bengtson-2002-10/>

The sudden disappearance of the [[precambrian]] [[Ediacaran biota]] at the [[end-Ediacaran extinction]], who were mostly bottom-dwelling [[filter feeder]]s and [[grazing (behaviour)|grazer]]s, has been hypothetized to be partly caused by increased predation by newer animals with hardened skeleton and mouthparts.<ref name="Stanley1973">{{Cite journal |last=Stanley |first=S. M. |year=1973 |title=An ecological theory for the sudden origin of multicellular life in the Late Precambrian |journal=PNAS |volume=70 |issue=5 |pages=1486–1489 |pmid=16592084 |doi=10.1073/pnas.70.5.1486 |pmc=433525 |bibcode=1973PNAS...70.1486S |doi-access=free }}</ref>