Scientists Just Found the Face of a 500-Million-Year-Old Creature, And It’s Smiling
The Daily Galaxy••science
Key Points:
- Scientists have finally identified the true face of Hallucigenia, a bizarre Cambrian sea creature, revealing it was not headless but had a hidden spoon-shaped head with distinct facial features, including two tiny eyes and a curved structure beneath them.
- The discovery, based on new Burgess Shale fossils from Canada and detailed electron microscopy, overturns decades of misinterpretation, including the mistaken belief that a dark blob on the fossil was its head, which is now understood to be decay fluid from fossilization.
- Hallucigenia’s mouth structure, featuring rings of teeth arranged for suction feeding, suggests a unique feeding strategy distinct from other Cambrian animals, helping scientists better understand its ecological role.
- The findings clarify Hallucigenia
