A fossil of a new species from 500 million years ago during the Cambrian period was found in Kootenay National Park in the Canadian Rockies. According to Phys.org, paleontologists from the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) identified the huge fossil as the Titanokorys gainesi, named after its huge size that is about half a meter long.
Jean-Bernard Caron, ROM's Richard M. Ivey Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology, commented that the huge size of the fossil was mind-boggling, and probably one of the biggest animals found that lived during the Cambrian period.
Huge New Species Belongs to Extinct Group of Animals
According to Live Science, the Cambrian Period is the first geological period of the Paleozoic era that lasted for about 53 million years. It was a critical time in the evolution of life on the planet as it marked the Cambrian explosion when animals evolved as evident in the fossil record of a mass extinction event nearly 500 million years ago.
In the study, titled "A Giant Nektobenthic Radiodont From the Burgess Shale and the Significance of Hurdiid Carapace Diversity" published in Royal Society Open Science, researchers wrote that the Titanokorys gainesi belongs to the euarthropods called radiodonts that evolved during the Cambrian explosion.
Cosmos Magazine reported that the new fossil had compound eyes, a mouth full of teeth, flaps used for swimming, and spiny claws that they used to hunt their prey. Also, they have an incredibly long head covered by a carapace, which is a hard shell similar to crabs, lobsters, and tortoises.
The team believes that the Titanokorys gainesi must have lived on the seafloor judging from its broad and flattened carapace. Study author Jean-Bernard Caron, from the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Canada, said that these enigmatic species must have played an important role in the seafloor ecosystem during the Cambrian period.
He noted that the front limbs of these animals that looked like a stack of multiple rakes must have helped it bring anything, such as food that was on its tiny spines that effectively and efficiently captured its prey.
Huge Fossil in 500 Million-Year-Old Burgess Shale
Phys.org reported that the huge fossil of the ancient animal species and other fossils in the study were discovered around the Marble Canyon in northern Kootenay National Park after a series of expeditions by paleontologists of ROM.
Researchers noted that scientists have already found a variety of Burgess Shale animals in this area that date back from the Cambrian period. However, they are smaller and more abundant than the Titanokorys gaines, like the Cambroraster falcatus.
Parks Canada manages Yoho and Kootenay National Parks where Burgess Shale is located. They work closely with scientific researchers to uncover the history of ancient Earth. In 1980, the Burgess Shale fossil sites were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and now have become a part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site.
RELATED ARTICLE: New Whale Species Discovered in Egypt: 10-foot P. anubis Semi-Aquatic Walking Whale Lived as Top Predator 43 Million Years Ago
Check out more news and information on Paleontology on Science Times.