After the history of life on earth entered the Phanerozoic, countless strange lives were born on the earth, all of which amazed people with the wonders of nature, these different forms of life are studied and sorted out by paleontologists, most of which have relatively complete or not too vague evolutionary lineages, but there are always some creatures that make people scratch their heads, such as today's protagonist - Tully Monster!
Tully monster restoration diagram
The Tully monster is not only very peculiar in appearance, there is a feeling of four different, and the most important thing is that paleontologists have not figured out its evolutionary lineage until now, it gives people the feeling that it appears in the strata out of thin air, and there are no ancients before and no ones to see. Researchers have been arguing for 60 years since it was discovered, but still don't know what the hell it is. Its appearance is so strange that if it was born in the Cambrian, it would be no offense, but it appeared in the late Carboniferous period. At this time, all kinds of creatures on the earth can identify the category to which they belong, but this Tully monster has not yet determined which door and what class it belongs to, it is simply an exotic visitor! What is even more infuriating is that the fossils unearthed by it are not only numerous but also extremely exquisite and complete!
There are thousands of fossil specimens of Tully monsters! Many fossils are clearly imprinted on the soft tissues of muscle internal organs. This is simply an insult to the intelligence of paleontologists, Tully monster said I have left you bald paleontologists so many exquisite fossils and still retain organ muscle marks, but you can't figure out who I am for more than 60 years! This is simply "waste"
Tully monsters have fossil marks on organs and muscles
Complete and beautiful Tully monster fossils
The Tully monster is not very large, about 10 centimeters long. There is a long mouth with pliers, and the jaws also have sharp, thin teeth. It is likely that it uses this long beak to catch worms or trilobites from the silt of the seabed for food. Its eyes are even more peculiar, and the slender stalk ends are studded with two large Kazilan eyes! I don't even know what words to use to describe it, just like the little right eye in the Japanese anime Parasite Beast! The body is cylindrical, like a fish! There are also several gill holes on the sides of the cylindrical body. There is also a strange tail fin that looks a bit like the end of a squid's head. This cargo has the most eccentric features of the most bizarre species in the three major animal phylums of arthropods, chordochal cords, and soft bodies.
Some scholars published a paper in 2016 arguing that the Tully monster is a jawless vertebrate and that the lamprey is related. But soon other scholars came to punch in the face! The opposition scientists compared the typical characteristics of the Tully monster with other vertebrates of the same era and concluded that the Tully monster was a chordate.
Tully Monster Data Comparison Chart
Alas, this Tully monster is still inconclusive, and it is estimated that it will continue to consume the hair of paleontologists in the days to come, until it is truly defined! Hopefully, I'll see this result in my lifetime!