Buzz
Scientists regularly stumble upon fascinating and odd fossils, with some discoveries being truly extraordinary. Among the latest are a slimy, slug-like hermaphrodite that secretes revolting mucus, a balloon-shaped organism with a spiked exterior, enigmatic lizards, and an oddly shaped filter feeder.
One peculiar creature even reminds paleontologists of a character once portrayed by actress Natalie Portman. There are many other strange and captivating species, and several of these ten remarkable ancient animals have reshaped scientific theories while broadening our understanding of life millions of years ago.
10. Carnivorous Whales
New findings, revealed through 3-D scans of digital simulations of fossilized baleen whale teeth, suggest that ancient baleen whales were far more aggressive than their peaceful modern counterparts. Today’s baleen whales have bristle-like structures in their mouths to filter plankton and small fish from the water. However, their ancient ancestors had sharp, cutting teeth.
Erich Fitzgerald, senior curator of vertebrate paleontology at Museums Victoria, explains, “These results mark the first time we've shown that ancient baleen whales had razor-sharp teeth, specifically designed for cutting the flesh of their prey.” Previous theories suggested these toothy whales used their teeth to filter prey from the ocean, but that idea has now been debunked.
9. Pectinatella Magnifica
Pectinatella magnifica, known as the magnificent bryozoan, is a brownish-gray, slime-filled hermaphrodite with a textured surface resembling a pineapple and an odd, brain-like shape. It was recently discovered in Vancouver’s Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park, British Columbia. Celina Starnes of the Stanley Park Ecology Society ventured into the lagoon and retrieved one of these creatures. Starnes described it as gelatinous, much like Jell-O.
Beyond its peculiar appearance, the bryozoan boasts several other strange traits. Although it appears to be a singular organism, it is actually a colony made up of hundreds of tiny creatures, each called a zooid, measuring less than a millimeter in size. P. magnifica is hermaphroditic and has the ability to reproduce asexually if a cluster of its cells, known as a statoblast, detaches.
Before this discovery, P. magnifica was believed to be found only east of the Mississippi River. It's still unclear whether these bryozoans have always inhabited the Vancouver area, remaining undiscovered until now, or if they arrived in Canada as warmer temperatures from climate change allowed them to spread northward.
Bryozoans have existed for over 470 million years and feed by filtering algae from the water. They can pose a threat to the environment, disturbing the balance of freshwater ecosystems, and often clog pipes. Additionally, they are known for leaving behind a thick layer of mucus after being handled.
8. Eusaurosphargis Dalsassoi
An artist’s visualization of Eusaurosphargis dalsassoi, based on a complete fossil of the ancient creature, depicts a reptile with a round body, a flared tail, and rows of spikes along its back. It bears a resemblance to today’s girdled lizards.
It’s probable that this armored creature wasn’t adept at swimming, if it swam at all. Most likely, it was a land-dweller, preferring to live on land rather than in water. The fossil, found in the Swiss Alps, challenges the earlier theory of its aquatic lifestyle. The 20-centimeter-long (8 in) fossil, possibly from a young individual, suggests the lizard moved using “spadelike claws” and stiff, jointed legs. Its movement and coloration also imply it lived on land rather than in water.
7. Nidelric Pugio
A peculiar, balloon-shaped creature with an “outer skeleton” covered in spines, this fossilized chancelloriid was uncovered in China. The 520-million-year-old fossil, shaped like a “flattened bird’s nest,” promises to deepen scientists’ understanding of ancient marine life. Measuring slightly over 9 centimeters ( in), this specimen of Nidelric pugio became flattened during the fossilization process.
The species was named to honor the late Professor Richard Aldridge, a paleontologist and ornithologist who previously worked at the University of Leicester’s Department of Geology. Nidus, which is Latin for “bird’s nest,” and “adelric,” derived from the Old English name “Aedelic” (the root for the surname “Aldridge”), with “adel” meaning “noble” and “ric” meaning “ruler.” Dr. Tom Harvey from the University of Leicester noted that the rare fossil is significant because it shows “how strange and varied the shapes of early animals could be.”
6. Enigmatic Lizards
Two ancient lizards preserved in amber present mysteries for very different reasons. One has an unknown identity, but its place of origin is certain; the other’s origin is unclear, but its identity is known.
The first lizard’s fossil is just an outline: Its skin remains intact, but its internal organs have been “lost to time.” It was discovered in the fossil-rich Hukawng Valley of Myanmar, an area famous for 99-million-year-old Burmese amber, where a baby bird, a feathered dinosaur tail, and an odd insect have also been found. Due to the missing internal organs, scientists are unsure whether it’s “a skink, gecko, or something else,” said Kelsey Jenkins, a graduate student at Sam Houston, acknowledging that the fossil remains “a puzzle.”
The other fossil, which sat unnoticed in a Canadian museum for years, is that of a gecko. Its skin, skeleton, and distinct toes and claws clearly reveal its identity. What remains unclear, however, is where it once lived. Researchers are hopeful that a chemical analysis of the amber surrounding the fossil, as well as the spider trapped inside, may offer clues about its origin. The amber’s composition hints at a tropical environment.
5. Chilesaurus Diegosuarezi
It’s hard to picture a “vegetarian” T-rex, but one of the T-rex’s relatives, Chilesaurus diegosuarezi, was entirely plant-eating. It had many other peculiar features. For example, it exhibited characteristics found in several different prehistoric animals. About the size of a horse, C. diegosuarezi was one of the most common creatures in what is now Chile’s Aysen Region, 145 million years ago. Fernando Novas from the Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum in Buenos Aires finds it perplexing. “I don’t know how the evolution of dinosaurs produced this kind of animal, what ecological pressures could have led to its development,” he admits.
The remains of a dozen C. diegosuarezi were discovered near General Carrera Lake in Southern Chile, with four nearly fully preserved. Once a carnivore like Tyrannosaurus rex, velociraptors, and other theropods, C. diegosuarezi switched its diet and became a herbivore. This is evident from its beak-like mouth, flat teeth, small head, and slender neck—features quite different from the heads and necks of typical meat-eaters.
Chilesaurus diegosuarezi also possessed forelimbs similar to an allosaurus, but with “two stumpy fingers” instead of sharp claws. Its peculiar blend of traits makes it an “extreme example of mosaic convergent evolution, where different body parts of an animal evolve to adapt to the environment in ways that mirror the evolutionary paths taken by other species.”
4. Tokummia Katalepsis
With a curled, semicircular shell on its back, a segmented, slug-like body, antennae, and rib-like ridges along its underbelly, Tokummia katalepsis is an odd sea creature. It also had multiple segmented legs that helped it move across the ocean’s floor, plus claw-like appendages at its rear. Discovered in 2017 by a team of paleontologists from the University of Toronto and the Royal Ontario Museum, this fossil aids in understanding mandibulates—creatures with mandibles, including flies, ants, crayfish, and centipedes.
The fossil was named after Tokumm Creek in Marble Canyon, Kootenay National Park, British Columbia, and the Greek word for “seizing.” This strange sea creature, measuring over 10 centimeters (4 inches), lived about 500 million years ago. While it could swim, scientists believe it preferred dwelling on the ocean floor.
Cedric Aria, the lead author of the study and a recent PhD graduate from the University of Toronto’s Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, described the creature’s pincers as “large, yet delicate and complex,” likening them to “can openers.” He explained that these pincers were “adapted to capture sizable soft prey, perhaps concealed in mud.” Its segmented limbs, ending in small projections called endites, were the evolutionary predecessors to the legs of mandibulates.
3. Puentemys Mushaisaensis
Image credit: Gabriel Lio
Interestingly, a giant South American turtle, Puentemys mushaisaensis, which lived 60 million years ago, possessed an almost perfectly round shell. This design would have made it a tough target for the enormous Titanoboa cerrejonensis, a snake capable of growing up to 14 meters (45 feet) long. The turtle was discovered in the La Puente pit of Colombia’s Cerrejon Coal Mine, a site famous for other remarkable fossil discoveries. With a shell measuring 1.5 meters (5 feet) across, this turtle illustrates how these creatures grew to massive sizes after the extinction of the dinosaurs. The lack of predators, combined with abundant food and suitable habitats, likely contributed to their enormous growth.
The turtle’s shell shielded it from not only the terrifying Titanoboa but also other predators and harsh temperatures. Its low dome design helped it absorb more sunlight, keeping the cold-blooded turtle warm. “The shell was much rounder than that of a typical turtle,” noted Carlos Jaramillo, a researcher at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.
A peculiar male animal with three horns on its head has been named after the Star Wars character Queen Amidala, portrayed by Natalie Portman. Xenokeryx amidalae roamed Europe 15 million years ago. The largest of its horns bears a striking resemblance to the intricate hairstyle worn by the character in the first episode of the iconic science fiction series.
Unlike the females of the species, which lacked horns and fangs, the males of Xenokeryx amidalae had small horns above each eye, a larger T-shaped bone at the back of their heads, and elongated canines, likely for display. This herbivore, roughly the size of a modern deer, lived in river-adjacent grasslands and fed on leaves, fruits, and roots.
Though Xenokeryx amidalae shares distant relatives with today’s giraffes and okapis, it did not have their long necks. Like cattle, goats, sheep, deer, giraffes, and okapi, this ancient animal was a ruminant with a four-chambered stomach, chewing cud as part of its digestive process.
1. Tamisiocaris Borealis
Tamisiocaris borealis, a 0.6-meter (2 ft), 520-million-year-old shrimp from the Cambrian period, had “unusual feeding filters” built into its face. This ancient creature, which lived in the waters of what is now Greenland, fed in a manner akin to the modern blue whale. By sweeping seawater with its facial appendages, it filtered and trapped plankton, much like how blue whales use their baleen to filter food from the ocean.
As a “gentle” predator, this shrimp’s method of sweeping the water for food consumed a significant amount of energy, requiring it to consume large quantities of plankton. The discovery of Tamisiocaris borealis has challenged previous beliefs that anomalocarids were an evolutionary failure. Instead, scientists now view them as having undergone an explosive evolutionary shift, enabling them to become dominant predators in their ecosystem.
