States Chronicle - Latest Breaking World News

Thursday, April 22, 2021
Log in
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
  • Investor Relations
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Latest News
    • Right Colors for your Skin Tone
    • MOST ACTIVE NASDAQ After-Hours
    • iPhone 5C Release Date
    • Samsung Galaxy S5 Release Date
    • The History of the Atkins Diet

Paleontologists Identify a Tiny Sea Predator with Many Appendages on Its Head (Study)

December 23, 2017 By Sebastian Mc’Mannen Leave a Comment

Email, RSS Follow
Habelia optata fossils preserved in rock

The sea predator had an impressive set of appendages on its head

STATES CHRONICLE – Paleontologists discovered the remains of a small weirdly-looking sea predator in the Burgess Shale deposit, Canada. What was remarkable about this creature was its size and appearance. The creature was about an inch long or even shorter, and lived 508 million years ago. Although it was so small, the design of its head was intricate, revealing it was actually an incredibly fearful creature.

The sea predator is an ancestor of all chelicerates

This weird sea predator was called Habelia optata, and is an ancestor to the now-extinct sea scorpion, but also to today’s scorpions, spiders, and horseshoe crabs. The fossils were spotted in the deposit a long time ago but, after a century of studies and analyses, researchers could finally identify the species it belonged to and its characteristics.

The sea predator was an arthropod, and these creatures are split in two different subgroups, mandibulates and chelicerates. Mandibulates have two prominent mandibles with which they grab and squash their food, as well as antennas. Chelicerates also have some appendages attached to their mouth used to cut their food. According to the researchers, the weird creature was an ancestor of the chelicerates.

The many appendages it had on its head made it a fierce predator

By looking at the sea predator, we can understand the evolution of this group of arthropods. The analysis revealed the creature was covered in spines, and had the body split in three. Also, it had many pairs of limbs, which were placed differently than they are nowadays. However, this explains why some species have some remains of ancient limbs still attached to their bodies.

What makes the sea predator remarkable is the anatomy of its head. It has a series of seven appendages with different function. Five of them had teeth and were used for chewing, one of them had bristles and could serve for grasping, and the last one was feebler and only had a tactile function. These impressive tools made it a fierce predator, as it could grab and rip open its prey.

The study on the creature was published in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

Email, RSS Follow

Filed Under: Nature

About Sebastian Mc’Mannen

Sebastian is an award-winning reporter and multimedia journalist. Sebastian’s first and foremost love was history, which led him to graduate from Penn State University with a bachelor’s in history. It was only later during his life that the love for journalism arose in him.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 30 other subscribers

Doom and MiniDoom 2

Volunteer-Based Mexican Studio Releases Sidescrolling Doom Clone

March 12, 2018 By Georgia Dawson Leave a Comment

Chinese Mom and locked iPhone.

Toddler Locks Chinese Mom Out of Phone for Half a Century

March 9, 2018 By James Faulkner Leave a Comment

Alexa laughing

Amazon Alexa Laughing out of the Blue Puzzles Engineers

March 8, 2018 By Jack M. Robinson Leave a Comment

Flippy and the Burgers

Meet Flippy, World’s First Fast-Food Robotic Chef

March 6, 2018 By Georgia Dawson Leave a Comment

System Shock

System Shock Remastered Delayed, Nightdive Studios CEO Announces

February 19, 2018 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

Sea of Thieves.

Sea of Thieves Optimized for Low-End PCs

February 14, 2018 By Georgia Dawson Leave a Comment

Sony and VR

Sony Touts New Generation of VR Controllers

January 31, 2018 By Deborah Cobing Leave a Comment

YouTube

YouTube Stiffens Its Monetization Policy to Discourage Spammers and Bad Actors

January 18, 2018 By Georgia Dawson Leave a Comment

Google Art Doppelganger

Google App Can Now Show Your Art Doppelganger

January 15, 2018 By Troy Rubenson Leave a Comment

YouTube mobile app logo on a smartphone

YouTube Now Enables Vertical Videos on iOS

December 24, 2017 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

Samsung Galaxy S2 with a shattered screen

Cracked Smartphone Screens Are a Thing of the Past – Self-Healing Polymer Gets Fixed Just by Pressing It

December 20, 2017 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

Bing logo on a white background

Bing Improves Its Search Results with the Help of AI and Reddit Integration

December 16, 2017 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

White hashtag on a blue background

Follow Your Interests on Instagram by Directly Following Hashtags

December 14, 2017 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge on a leather seat

Samsung Galaxy Smartphones Make More People Happier as Compared to iPhones

December 13, 2017 By Janet Vasquez Leave a Comment

Related Articles

  • killdeer bird

    How a Nesting Bird Almost Derailed Ottawa’s Bluesfest

    Jun 29, 2018
  • rivel eels in tank

    River Eels Affected by Cocaine in Water (Study)

    Jun 22, 2018
  • spider close up

    Spiders Can Fly and Experts Now Know How (Study)

    Jun 15, 2018
  • shrimp underwater

    This Hairy Shrimp Got Its Name from Bilbo Baggins (Study)

    Jun 14, 2018
  • freshwater pearl necklace

    Story of World’s Largest Freshwater Pearl, Sleeping Lion

    Jun 13, 2018
  • amphibian fossil

    Fossils in South Africa Rewrite History of Early Life

    Jun 8, 2018
  • wild animals in nature

    Animals Take Turns When Having Conversations (Study)

    Jun 6, 2018
  • Utah landscape

    New Reptilian-Mammal Fossil Might Change History (Study)

    May 30, 2018
  • angry chicken

    How Did Birds Survive Dinosaur Extinction? (Study)

    May 25, 2018
  • Berber monkeys playing

    Top 10 New Species for 2018 List Released

    May 24, 2018

Categories

  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Markets
  • National News
  • Nature
  • News
  • Politics
  • Science
  • Technology
  • Uncategorized
  • World

Copyright © 2021 statechronicle.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Contact