Strange creature discovered that turned into gold after 450 million years

Fossils of strange Ordovician creatures have emerged intact with every cell replaced by gold, but it's "fool's gold".

Excavated in New York state, USA, tiny fossils like sparkling gold jewelry have helped paleontologists identify a new species called Lomankus edgecombei .

"In addition to being beautifully yellow and strikingly coloured, these fossils are also spectacularly preserved," said paleontologist Luke Parry from the University of Oxford (UK), a member of the international research team.

Close-up of 450 million-year-old fossil recently excavated in New York - (Photo: CURRENT BIOLOGY).

According to Science Alert, the new species is a marine animal belonging to the Megacheiran family , an extinct class of arthropods with large "arms" on the front of their bodies for capturing prey.

The fossils were 450 million years old, dating back to the Ordovician period, when the northern tropics were almost entirely oceanic and most of the world's land was gathered into the southern supercontinent Gondwana.

The creatures of this period were incredibly diverse and strange, inherited from the creatures of the great biological explosion that preceded it - the Cambrian period.

What Lomankus edgecombei looked like when it was alive - (Graphic: Xiaodong Wang).

The fact that they are not exactly "fossils" but turned into "fool's gold" makes the discovery all the more interesting.

"Fool's gold" is the name scientists gave to pyrite (FeS ₂ )

Sulfate-reducing bacteria decompose organic material in an oxygen-deficient environment and produce hydrogen sulfide. This can then react with iron to form pyrite.

"The fossil-bearing sediments have low organic material content but high iron content, so the animal remains preserved there act as small islands where conditions are suitable for pyrite formation," the authors explain.

This mineral has a beautiful color almost like gold, slightly coppery, and is easily confused . That's why it's called "fool's gold".

The new species bears several evolutionary differences from its Cambrian relatives, with more fearsome, versatile appendages.

So, even though they don't turn into real gold, given their age, fossil status, and position on the evolutionary ladder, they are more valuable than pure gold.

Research on the new organism has just been published in the scientific journal Current Biology.