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The find is described as “remarkable”.
The discovery is described as “remarkable”.
It doesn’t happen very often
But sometimes paleontologists make a find that is so stunning, that it could make you question what on Earth evolution has been up to.
Like something out of a movie
Nevertheless, Paleontologists have discovered a 506-million-year-old extinct predator from the Burgess Shale of Canada – but even thought it was only the size of an index finger, it’s traits will most likely blow your mind.
3 eyes and a circular mouth
The study, published in Royal Society Open Science, describes the Mosura fentoni, as it’s called, as having three eyes, spiny jointed claws, a circular mouth lined with teeth – and a body with swimming flaps along the sides.
Never-seen-before feature
Mosura fentoni was part of an extinct group known as the radiodonts, but the new find possesses a feature never seen before in this group: It had an abdomen-like body region made up of multiple segments at its back end.
Nicknamed “sea-moth”
The field collectors nicknamed Mosurathe “sea-moth” due to its broad swimming flaps and narrow abdomen, which gave it a vague appearance to a moth.
No arteries or veins
Humans have arteries and veins to transport blood around the body, but Mosura didn’t. Instead it had what is described as an “open” circulatory system. This means the heart wsa pumping blood into large internal body cavities called lacunae.