80 million-year-old creatures like 'aliens' are present throughout the Earth

Strange fossils appear in chalk on many continents, on the body with unusual ball-shaped structures never seen in any animal on earth.

A collaborative study between the University of Cambridge, Essex University (UK), University of Western Australia and Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan) has just published in the scientific journal Palateontology. The golden age of dinosaurs - the end of the Cretaceous. These two "little monsters" live in the oceans, their bodies carrying an alien-like structure, like balloons.

The structure of the ball is particularly solid in the appearance of strange creatures - (photo courtesy of the team).

The "monsters" were identified as two species of ancient sea ​​cranes (crinoids) , quite beautiful creatures of the ocean, also known as sea lilies or feather stars. They belong to a group of marine invertebrates typical of echinoderms . This group includes starfish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, etc.

Ancient individuals of the Hue family have appeared on the earth since the Cambrian period (from 541 million years to 485 million years ago), increasingly crowded and spreading throughout the earth.

According to Dr. Aaron Hunter from the School of Earth Sciences (University of Western Australia) and the Faculty of Earth Sciences of Cambridge University, one of the lead authors, the ancient ocean was a very dangerous place, with the environment. unfavorable and full of predators. The structure balls have appeared with the aim of protecting animals from hostile ocean.

One of the two strange fossils found in chalk - (photo provided by the team).

Structurally like the fullerene complexes of carbon molecules that are rare in some minerals, this structure is extremely solid, able to withstand high pressures. In addition, it also has the characteristics of floating chambers, helping the creature to bring it more solid and flexible like a submarine.

According to the authors, this is the first time they have found a living fossil that contains such a strange body structure. Two strange creatures, called Marsupites testudinarius and Uintacrinus socialis , are about 80 million years old. Relatives appear in chalk in many places, especially the US and Australia.