A species of predatory worms more than 500 million years old was discovered in Greenland

This Ediacaran-Cambrian transition (about 540 million years ago) was marked by An exceptionally wide expanse In the diversity and disparity of animals, which coincided with the discovery of new territories Excavation strategy Colonization of deeper and more varied and water levels. Diversification of whole animals Ediacaran-Cambrian transition increasingly known as Change in two or three steps In Variation: First “Worm World” of the late Ediacara, during the latter followed by expansion Early Cambrian (Terranuvian) which expanded significantly in diversity during the latter Cambrian age.

In line with this knowledge, a work was published in Science Advances Magazine It is reported that fossils of a new group of animals have been found Hunter in the city of Sirius Passett From the Early Cambrian, in the north Greenland. These big worms could be some of them The first carnivores which colonized the water column 518 million years ago, reveals A past dynasty of hunters Which scientists didn’t know existed.

New fossils are named Timorbeest, which means “terrorist beasts” in Latin. provided with Fins on the sides of his body, a Special head with long, broad antennae Jaw structures Inside his mouth and he grew more than 30 cm long, there were some of these Largest swimming animals No Early Cambrian.

It was already known that primitive arthropods were dominant predators during the Cambrian, such as the strange-looking anomalocariids. however, The Timorbeest is a distant relative, but at the same time, close to living arrow worms or chaetognaths. Today, these are much smaller marine predators Feed A small one Zooplankton. Research shows that this ancient marine ecosystem was quite complex, with food chains that allowed for different levels of predators.

This Timorbeest were Giants of their time And it will be close to Top of the food chain. This makes them equivalent in some importance A major carnivore Modern oceans, such as sharks and seals, but Cambrian period. within the Fossil Digestive System timorebastia, researchers found remains of A A common swimming arthropod is called isoxysWhich it was food source For many other animals. They are very common Sirius Passat And they had long defensive spines that pointed both forward and backward. However, they clearly failed to avoid that fate, as it chewed them up in large quantities.

This Arrow worms is one of Oldest animal fossils of the Cambrian. When the Arthropods They appear in the fossil record between 521 and 529 million years ago, with the first dating to at least 538 million years ago.

Both the Arrow worms Like the most primitive Timorbeest were Swimming predator. Therefore, the researchers suggest that it is possible to assume that, in all probability, they were Predators that dominate Oceans before arthropods took off. Maybe they had A dynasty of about 10 to 15 million years Before they were replaced by other groups.

He Timorbeest Understanding where this comes from is a truly remarkable discovery. Predator with jaws. Nowadays, the Arrow worms They have threatening bristles on the outside of their heads to catch their prey, while Timorbeest It has jaws inside its head. This is seen today Microscopic jaw worms: Organisms with which arrows shared an ancestor 500 million years ago. These and similar fossils provide links between closely related organisms that look very different today. This finding confirms how Arrow worms evolved.

During the series of Expeditions to the extremely remote Sirius PassatIn the farthest reaches of the north Greenland, more than 82.5˚ north, in this research scientists collected a wide variety of new organisms. Thanks for Remarkable and extraordinary conservation Provided by that site, they can also reveal interesting anatomical details including them Digestive system, muscular anatomy and nervous system.

* Jacob Winther is the author of the study and a researcher in the Faculty of Earth Sciences and Biology at the University of Bristow.