520 million year old strange creature with intact brain revealed

(NLDO) - The creature found in Cambrian rock in China in a more perfect condition than an Egyptian mummy is a completely new species.

Named Youti yuanshi, the strange creature unearthed in China forms a new species belonging to an entirely new genus of the arthropod lineage. It is a unique fossil.

Strange creature in Yunnan province - China has perfectly preserved anatomical structure - Photo: NATURE

Usually, the fossils found are mostly skeletons of large creatures, such as dinosaurs.

In rare cases, scientists collect specimens that accidentally preserve software. These are priceless treasures.

Youti yuanshi is even more amazing because its soft body is completely preserved inside and out, even the brain is intact.

This tiny creature - about the size of a sesame seed - is 520 million years old and lived during the Cambrian period.

What's more, it's a larva, a very rare fossil form that paleontologists always dream of.

The appearance of the unique fossil - Photo: NATURE

"When I daydream about a fossil I want to discover , I always think of an arthropod larva, because developmental data is so important to understanding their evolution," Science Alert quoted lead author Martin Smith from Durham University (UK) as saying.

The study was conducted in collaboration with other authors from Durham University and Yunnan University.

This unique three-dimensional fossil was found in a shale block of the Yu'anshan Formation in Yunnan, which has long been known as a treasure trove of fossils.

The tiny creatures were carefully extracted with acetic acid, then scanned at high resolution to reveal their internal structures.

These steps show that the inside of this worm-like creature was generally simple compared to the complex bodies of present-day arthropods, yet there are signs of the basic anatomical structures of this class of animals.

In addition, the circulatory and digestive anatomical structures of Y. yuanshi also provide much data on the later development of arthropod features.

"Although the Youti yuanshi fossil is just a tiny thing in your hand, its discovery has huge implications for our understanding of life on Earth," the article published in the scientific journal Nature asserted.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/trung-quoc-lo-dien-sinh-vat-la-520-trieu-tuoi-con-nguyen-bo-nao-196240805103934682.htm