The 390-million-year-old fossil has claws

The missing link in previous nail evolution in modern scorpion species and sam has been identified by the 390-million-year-old fossil discovery by researchers at the University of Bonn (Germany) and Yale. .

The specimen named Schinderhannes bartelsi was discovered in fossils in shale at a quarry near Bundenbach (Germany), which is a fossil supply site preserved in pyrite ore with amazing durability. Of course, Hunsrück Slate. The previous Hunsrück Slate brought valuable clues about the evolution of arthropods - including shrimp, scorpion and marine spiders, as well as ancient trilobites.

Dereck Briggs, director of the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yle and author of the article in Science, said: 'With the head resembling the giant Anomalocaris carnivore living in the water in the Cambrian period and the one that looks like it Modern arthropods, this specimen is the only example of an unusual creature '.

Scientists have long wondered about the origin of the extra 'legs' used to capture the scorpions on the head of the scorpion or sam. Researchers believe that the Schinderhannes specimen may have suggestions. Their sub-legs are equivalent to the extra legs of the ancient predator Anomalocaris - although such early-structure creatures are thought to be extinct in the mid-Cambrian period , 100 years before the Schinderhannes species came out. show.

Photo of Schinderhannes (Photo: Steinmann Institute / University of Bonn)

The first part of the fossil has an onion-shaped eyes, a round mouth opens and a pair of burning fissures with opposing spines along the side of the accessory. The body is divided into 12 burns, each with small legs and a long tail. Between the head and the body is a pair of large triangular-like limbs, which seem to have the effect of pushing the creature like a penguin's wings. Unlike the ancestors who lived in the Cambrian period, which reached 3 feet in length , Schinderhannes was only 4 inches long .

This discovery took nearly 20 years of research by Briggs. He said: 'Sadly, the quarry where these valuable materials are located has been closed for economic reasons, so the only additional specimen in the hands of collectors is not well prepared. or do not recognize what they have. '

Other authors include Gabriele Kühl and Jes Rust (University of Bonn, Germany). The research was funded by the German Science Foundation and the Humboldt Foundation.