520-Million-Year-Old Fossil Discovered With Organs Amazingly Preserved.mp4

Amaze Lab

Funding fossils can tell us a whole lot about the creatures that lived on our planet millions of years ago, but observing the bones and skin can only tell us so much. That’s why this 520 million year old fossil is so amazing, as it still has the brain and all of the other insides intact.

Transcript

00:00Finding fossils can tell us a whole lot about the creatures that lived on our planet millions of

00:07years ago, but observing the bones and skin can only tell us so much. That's why this 520 million

00:13year old fossil is so amazing, as it still has the brain and all of the other insides intact.

00:19The prehistoric creature was discovered in China, and it's only around the size of a sesame seed.

00:23However, the discovery is gargantuan, as it is a new genus and species of your arthropod

00:29called Wai Yuanqi. It was found complete with all of its internal systems still in there,

00:33and since it's related to all modern spiders, crabs, and insects, this single find should help

00:38researchers fill in many evolutionary gaps in our current biological understanding.

00:42The researchers used 3D imaging to get a better look inside, finding the creature was at a

00:47particular point in its developmental period of evolution, one rarely seen by scientists.

00:52Paleontologist Martin Smith says,

00:54This find is literally a dream come true, saying recently,

00:57I already knew that this simple worm-like fossil was something special. But when I saw the amazing

01:02structures preserved under its skin, my jaw just dropped. How could these intricate features

01:06have avoided decay and still be here to see half a billion years later?

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