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Scientists Uncover Yet Another Cambrian Weirdo
There is nothing wrong with your monitor. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. The creature at the top of this post isn’t an April Fool’s joke, nor is it a Lovecraftian nightmare. Named Yawunik kootenayi, the archaic arthropod is a real animal that undulated through Earth’s seas 508 million years ago.
Following hot on the heels – or is that fins? – of the filter-feeder Aegirocassisthe filter-feeder Aegirocassis – Yawunik is the latest ancient invertebrate to make us ask “What the heck is that thing?” Described by paleontologists Cédric Aria, Jean-Bernard Caron, and Robert Gaines from 42 fossils found in Canada’s Kootenay National Park, the Cambrian critter adds