450 million years ago, this ancient "cute creature" was actually a fierce "catcher" in the ocean

450 million years ago, this ancient "cute creature" was actually a fierce "catcher" in the ocean

The reporter learned from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences that researchers from the institute, in collaboration with British paleontologists, discovered an ancient arthropod about 450 million years ago in Anji County, Zhejiang Province, my country - the Anji Ancient Horseshoe Crab. The Anji Ancient Horseshoe Crab has a round head and looks very cute. However, it was actually a ferocious carnivore in the ocean at that time, and could be called the "cute overlord" in the ancient ocean.

Reconstruction of the ancient horseshoe crab Anji (drawn by Yang Dinghua from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Wang Han, a doctoral student at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that the ancient horseshoe crab Anji is a species of the important ancient arthropod Eurycoma. Eurycoma live in fresh water or sea water, and it is more common to live in sea water. The Eurycoma discovered in the past is somewhat similar in shape to the current scorpion, so it is also commonly called a sea scorpion.

The newly discovered Anji ancient horseshoe crab is more round and cute than the various horseshoe crabs discovered in the past. From the fossil, the complete body of the Anji ancient horseshoe crab is about 15 cm long. Its head is rounded, and its trunk is thick in front and thin in the back, divided into multiple sections. Its overall shape is similar to a round mallet. Only the thorn-like tail and the multiple pairs of pincers at the front remind the observer that they were once ferocious carnivores in the ancient ocean.

Photo of the ancient horseshoe crab fossil in Anji (Photo provided by Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

"The Anji ancient horseshoe crab lived about 450 million years ago and is the oldest eurypodid horseshoe crab discovered in my country so far. Around it, we also found fossils of sponges and other creatures living in the deep sea. These discoveries are of great reference value for understanding and restoring the deep-sea environment at that time, as well as studying the evolution of early arthropods." said Zhang Yuandong, a researcher at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, who participated in this study.

The relevant research results were recently published in the international paleontological journal "Journal of Paleontology".

<<:  Can palm lines be used to diagnose high blood pressure? Will frequent use of antihypertensive drugs make blood vessels fragile? Don't believe these rumors

>>:  Why can you walk a thousand miles if you hold your urine, but you can’t walk an inch if you have diarrhea? You may never hold your urine again after reading this!

Recommend

Facebook pays tribute to Steve Jobs on his 60th birthday

I don't want to go to work because I'm la...

Where is the Zhihu advertising backend? Where can I connect to the delivery?

Professional related: Qinggua Media Mobile Market...

You may not know that iPhone can also scan QR codes like this

If I tell you that the iPhone's native camera...

You may be doing these things that your heart fears the most every day!

The heart pumps blood continuously to deliver oxy...

The operating system behind iQiyi’s active users

For a complex product, a complete user operation ...

What is the safest way to inspect a second-hand iPhone?

Using second-hand mobile phones is indeed a socia...

The beautiful Rudina chicken is actually an expert in egg production

Recently, a blogger shared his daily life of rais...

Get new skills! Tutorial on how to unlock the Chinese version of PS4

The PS4 game console was officially launched in C...