Discovery of huge worm species that are 518 million years old

About the episode

Fossils of a new animal species, more than 518 million years old, have been found in northern Greenland. It is a large worm with large jaws.

The animal has been named TimorbestiaHorror monster in Latin. Well, at 30cm, it may have been less monstrous than I expected, but at the time it was one of the largest swimming predators and perhaps one of the first carnivores. He was, so to speak, the shark of his time.

The worm had fins, an antenna on its head, and hence those large jaws. Arrowworms are the closest living relatives. Although nowadays they are much smaller and no longer have jaws, but rather external brushes for catching prey.

The large worm was not the only predator in the sea at that time, it had to share that place with, among other things, Anomalies. A fascinating creature that is difficult to describe, but probably closely resembles a combination of shrimp, squid, centipede and sea cucumber. Good, Just search for it.

The researchers were even able to see what was in the belly of the giant fossil worm: the remains of arthropods from that era called isoxis. Special, because these kinds of things are rarely preserved well enough.

In the area where this discovery was made, they found many previously undiscovered animal species. We'll have to wait a little longer to see some of these stories, as the investigations are still well underway.

Read more about the research here: “Giant” predatory worms more than half a billion years old have been discovered in northern Greenland