Scientists have discovered evidence of a new group of extinct predators that dominated the oceans more than 500 million years ago. The fossil remains of these “worms” were discovered in the sediments of the Sirius Passet site, in northern Greenland, and in their digestive system scientists from the University of Bristol also found traces of what may have been their last meal , namely a small creature called Isossi. They believe that Timorebestia, which means “beasts of terror” in Latin, were near the top of the ancient food chain 518 million years ago and “were as important as some of the largest predators in today’s oceans, such as sharks and seals.” .
They speculate that these creatures may have dominated for around “10 to 15 million years before being replaced by other, more successful groups.” Except they looked nothing like what their name might have suggested. Because although the Timorebeast had a clearly marked head with long antennae, fins on the sides of the body and huge jaws in the mouth, it grew to about 30 cm in length. Dr Jakob Vinther, from the University of Bristol’s School of Earth and Biological Sciences, said its closest living relatives are Chaetognatha, also known as sea darters or chaetognaths, which are small predatory marine creatures about 1cm long that they feed on tiny zooplankton.
The scientists say their work, published in the journal Science Advances, sheds light on the evolution of these worms. Senior study author Tae Yoon Park of the Korea Polar Research Institute says:
Living sea darts have a separate nerve center on the abdomen called the ventral ganglion. This is completely unique to these animals. We found it preserved in Timorebeast and another fossil called Amiskwia. People have debated whether Amiskwia were closely related to sea darts as part of their evolutionary lineage. The preservation of these unique abdominal ganglia gives us much greater confidence in this hypothesis. We are very excited to discover such unique predators in Sirius Passet.
Dr Vinther, another of the study’s authors, adds that “their research shows that these ancient ocean ecosystems were quite complex and included a food chain that supported different levels of predators.
Meanwhile, Isoxys, the creature found inside the Timorebeast, is believed to be a marine arthropod, an invertebrate animal with jointed legs. Morten Lunde Nielsen, a former PhD student at the University of Bristol involved in the research, said Isoxys would have been a food source for many other animals, adding that the Timorebeast “chewed them up in huge quantities”.
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2024-01-06 12:48:42
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