The past couple of years have seen a remarkable series of
fossil discoveries, from Yutyrannus huali,
through Pinguinus ingens, down to Protungulatum donnae.
This next creature does not represent a new fossil find -- that dates back almost half a
century -- but rather a brand-new (and quite surprising) taxonomic determination. Let the New York Times tell it:
Some thought the
300-million-year-old creature was a mollusk, like a snail. Others assumed it
was an arthropod like an insect or crab. And others believed it was some sort
of worm.
Now, a team of researchers from
Yale University say they have figured out the monster’s identity: It’s a vertebrate most closely related
to the lamprey.
Scale model of the “Tully
monster”
(actual length: fifty feet)
|
Etymology of the Latin designator:
Tullimonstrum: meaning, ‘monster found by Mr Tully’
(in Illinois)
gregarium:
meaning, ungainly though it may have been, this creature liked to hang out with
his homeys.
For a scientific summing-up of recent paleontological
triumphs, click here.
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