Watch the strange dance of 500-million-year-old worm: Ancient creature performed bizarre moves to catch food
- The 'naked' thumb-sized worm grabbed prey with its spiny arms
- It is known as the 'ovation worm' because it was able to position itself upright
- Found in the Canadian Rockies, it is incredibly rare and only known from two specimens
Could this be the original tiny dancer?
About 500 million years ago a squishy worm-like animal did a 'naked' dance in an attempt to grab morsels floating by.
Scientists have found many strange-looking creatures that lived during the Cambrian period, but this might be the oddest of them all.
Researchers found the critter in the Burgess Shale deposit in the Canadian Rockies, which is world-famous for its fossils from the Cambrian Period, dating from 540 million to 490 million years ago.
It has been called Ovatiovermis cribratus, from the Latin 'ovatio' meaning ovation and 'vermis' meaning worm - or the 'ovation worm'.
Cribratus comes from 'sieve' — as researchers believe the worm used its spiky forelimbs to grab morsels of food floating in the water.
'The Burgess Shale is certainly no stranger of already bizarre-looking creatures, but this new species is certainly one of the oddest,' said study lead researcher Jean-Bernard Caron, the senior curator of invertebrate paleontology at the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada.
'Ovatiovermis is no longer than my thumb with all limbs stretched out and is only known from two specimens', he said.
The Ovatiovermis cribratus, part photographed under dry conditions and using direct light (left), or cross-polarized light (right). The white bars represent 5mm
Ovatiovermis is around the size of a thumb with all its limbs stretched out. Researchers believe the strong recurved claws on the back limbs allowed it to anchor itself to hard surfaces
Researchers believe the strong recurved claws on the back limbs allowed Ovatiovermis to anchor themselves to hard surfaces.
This allowed them to stand more or less upright.
Two pairs of hairy, spiky limbs on the front of the body would have then been used to filter or collect food particles floating in the water.
Two pairs of hairy, spiky limbs on the front of the body would have then been used to filter or collect food particles floating in the water
A drawing of an Ovatiovermis cribratus from the Burgess Shale. Its 'naked' state begs the question of how it was able to guard against predators
They used these peculiar limbs to bring food closer to their mouths.
The find is extra special because it is only the third lobopodian that has been formally found in the Burgess Shale site.
It is also one of the rarest species found there.
The authors of the study believe that their findings provide new views on the evolution of lobopodians and their relatives.
'We think that suspension feeding was common among lobopodians and turned out to be important in the initial evolutionary 'burst' of that colossal group of organisms that gave rise to water bears, velvet worms and arthropods', said Dr Cédric Aria, who co-authored the study.
Dr Caron further stated: 'These results contribute further evidence that suspension feeding was already a widespread mode of life during the Cambrian period.
'Its emergence has been important for the origin of modern marine ecosystems, and must have played a role in the rapid diversification of the first animals. '
The researchers were surprised to find that unlike other suspension feeding organisms, Ovatiovermis, did not have any hard structures to protect its body.
Dr Caron said: 'Contrary to its relatives, this species does not have any spines or plates on its body for protection.
'Its 'naked' state begs the question of how it was able to guard against predators.'
Researchers believe Ovatiovermis may have lived in sponge colonies to avoid predators.
Alternatively they could have used camouflage or have been toxic to predators.
'However, this is a question that is difficult to solve with fossils, and it may remain forever one of Ovatiovermis's secrets,' Dr Caron added.
The Burgess Shale deposit, which is in the Canadian Rockies, is world-famous for its fossils from the Cambrian Period
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