280 million year old 'alien' fossil discovered in Western Australia

This 280 million year old fossil has such a strange and confusing shape that many people, upon first glance, will definitely think it is an alien fossil.

A recent image that has gone viral on social media depicts a remarkably well-preserved fossil of a sea creature that lived 280 million years ago. Many people who have seen it have immediately confirmed that it is definitely an alien fossil. But what exactly is this creature?

Fossils of Jimbacrinus show that they were deep-sea animals that thrived in what is now Western Australia during the Permian period. They grew to about 9 inches long.

In fact, the fossil in question belongs to the species Jimbacrinus crinoids , also known as sea lilies , and was found in Western Australia. These marine creatures lived around 280 million years ago, during the Permian period, and their fossils provide valuable insights into the evolution and diversity of life on Earth.

Fossils of the species were first brought to public attention through an image that went viral on social media. The image showed them arranged in a group, suggesting they had been buried in the sedimentary rock of their natural habitat. The fossils were believed to have been found near Gascoyne Junction , a remote area of ​​Western Australia known for its geological diversity.

Jimbacrinus had five arms made up of tentacle-like structures. Like all crinoids , it used these outstretched arms to feed on small animals and particles in the water. Crinoids have a long history. They were the first echinoderms to appear in the fossil record and have retained their original structure throughout their long history. Crinoids were extremely common during the Paleozoic Era.

When the Midwest Times investigated the origins of the image, they discovered it had been posted on the website of a US-based fossil dealer. The dealer claimed that the fossil was legally obtained and could be sold to interested buyers. This raises some questions about the legal status of fossil collecting and trading in Australia, where laws regarding the collection and sale of fossils vary widely from state to state.

David Gear, a representative from the Western Australian Museum, clarified the legal status of fossil collecting in Western Australia. According to Gear, it is legal to collect and export fossils under certain circumstances, but collectors must obtain the necessary permits and follow guidelines for responsible fossil collecting. Gear also stressed the importance of leaving fossils in their natural environment whenever possible, as they provide important scientific data about the history of life on Earth.

Fossils of this alien-looking creature were abundant in the shallow seas that covered much of Western Australia during the Permian period – first discovered in 1949 by cattle station manager Jimba Jimba, who gave the genus its name. Mr J Bostock (who gave the species its name) found fossils of Jimbacrinus crinoids in the Cundlego Formation, a sandstone formation created by the deposition of floods and storms during the Early Permian period around 275 million years ago.

This geological formation was found along a dry creek bed and contains fossil remains of many species that inhabited the seabed during that era. Interestingly, these fossils are often found complete and have not been discovered at any other location .

The fossil deposit near the Gasocyne Junction provides a glimpse into the extinction events of the Permian Period, at the end of which the 'Great Dying' occurred. This was the largest and most severe of the five known mass extinctions in recorded geologic time, and it wiped out more than 90% of all marine species on our planet at the time. Rising global temperatures led to warmer and more acidic waters, increasing methane and metal concentrations, and severely reducing oxygen levels in the water, making it difficult for marine animals to survive. However, a small percentage of crinoids survived the extinction event, and there are still more than 600 species of crinoids living on our planet today.

They are the first echinoderms to appear in the fossil record.

Another interesting fact is that fossils of crinoids were the inspiration for the Sentinels in the Matrix. Although the Sentinels initially had limited functions, they eventually evolved into machines that roamed the underground metropolis in search of humans and the ship Zion.

Fossils of Jimbacrinus crinoids found near Gascoyne Junction are particularly notable because they are the most complete and complete fossil specimens on our planet, which may allow scientists to study their soft tissues and internal structures in more detail.