Employees of the Royal Ontario Museum (Canada) reported the discovery of a marine animal species of arthropod previously unknown to science.
Paleontologists have discovered fossilized remains in rock deposits that date back to 541-485 million years. The discovery is reported by the Royal Society Open Science.
The find was named Titanokorys gainesi. For its period, the size of the animal allowed it to be called a giant.
The body of the sea creature reached half a meter in length. For comparison: the size of many of his other contemporaries did not exceed a few centimeters.
For the Cambrian period, this is the largest animal ever discovered by scientists, experts say.
The giant’s relatives are primitive arthropods – radiodonts.
Describing the animal, researchers call compound eyes, a mouth studded with teeth in the shape of a pineapple slice, and claws under the head, with the help of which Titanocoris captured prey.
His body was flexible with special “valves” that allowed him to move in the water.
At the same time, the long head of the arthropod was covered with a shell, and it itself exceeded the size of the body.
Most likely, it was a bottom dweller, scientists say. These animals could have had a major impact on the deep sea ecosystem of their period.
