The existence of human beings is undoubtedly short for the earth, in the billions of years of the earth's history there have been many life, many of which are unknown to humans, recently scientists through fossils found 500 million years ago species.
According to foreign media reports, if you have the opportunity to cross to the earth's oceans 500 million years ago, you may see a monster with huge claws on its head. It swims in the water, looking for prey that can be sent into a large circular mouth. If you're lucky enough, you might even see a miniature version of a juvenile swaying behind it.
It swims in the water, looking for prey that can be sent into a large circular mouth. If you're lucky enough, you might even see a miniature version of a juvenile swaying behind it.
Paleontological research teams from China, Australia and Germany have discovered the juvenile fossils of this exotic shrimp in the Chengjiang fossil group in Yunnan. The shale in which the fossil is located is 518 million years old. The animal' scientific name is Lyrarapax unguispinus, a predatory animal in the oceans of the Cambrian period (about 540 million to 490 million years ago).
The larvae of the fossil shrimp are only 1.8 cm long, about the diameter of a coin, and the smallest L that has been found so far. Unguispinus intact fossil. In addition, according to a Paper published June 1 in the National Science Review, the odd shrimp may have been an excellent predator from birth.
The researchers wrote in the paper: "It has an adult-like morphology – particularly the fully developed pre-appendages and mouthparts – indicating L." Unguispinus is a fully functional predator during development. Scientists speculate that part of what drove the Cambrian explosion of life may have been the presence of large numbers of predators in the oceans.
As one of the oldest arthropods, L. Unguispinus is the ancestor of today's spiders, scorpions and crustaceans, but it can grow more than a meter. These ferocious trolls are one of the first top predators on Earth and have a very powerful attack ability.
The researchers wrote that each L. Unguispinus — even newborn juveniles — have a pair of hard claw-shaped appendages at the front of their bodies for catching and controlling prey. You can see similar claws in living arachnid species, Thelyphonida, which can be used to defend, dig up, and tear prey.
If you are unlucky enough to be L. Unguispinus grabbed it, and then it would face its terrifying, fang-filled mouth. L。 Unguispinus belong to the genus Chinchyfish, also known as Radiodonta because of the radial cone of the mouth, and their rounded mouths are covered with jagged fangs. Researchers believe that L from just born. Unguispinus, with its intact teeth and claws, shows that the shooters faced a very fierce competition for survival during the Cambrian explosion of life, which also prompted predators and predators to evolve rapidly, comparable to an arms race.
"The predatory lifestyles of certain catfisher offspring increase the hierarchical complexity of the Cambrian marine food web and may put additional selection pressure on the animal community," the researchers write, "and the predatory behaviors of all scales that occurred early in animal evolution were undoubtedly the key drivers behind the new things in the morphology and ecology of the entire Cambrian." ”
In this fossil, L. Unguispinus' well-preserved eyes, mouth, and appendages are important for exploring the origins of the ontology and predation strategies of shrimp. Researchers believe that L. Unguispinus may never change its niche and feeding habits during its growth from infancy to adulthood.
In a 2014 study, scientists found L near Kunming, Yunnan. Unguispinus brain fossil. From the similarities of the brain and other characteristics, L. Odd shrimp predators such as unguispinus may be very distant relatives of velvet worms.