New Fossil Discovery Shows Taco-Like Animal, Unlike Anything Researchers Have Seen Before

This ancient creature, with its taco-shaped body and multi-jointed legs, has left paleontologists astounded.

For years, paleontologists have examined hymenocarines—the ancestors of shrimp, centipedes, and crabs—which lived around 500 million years ago.

However, scientists had been missing a crucial evolutionary link between early hymenocarines and their later descendants.

Its legs are adorned with numerous spines and it has an unusual taco-like shell.

“No one could have imagined that an animal with 30 pairs of legs, with 20 segments per leg and so many spines on it ever existed, and it’s also enclosed in this very strange taco shape.”

These descendants, such as shrimp and various insects, have spread globally.

They noted that the cephalic anatomy of odaraiids had been largely unknown, which complicated evolutionary theories.

This adaptation was crucial in its underwater habitat.

This formation created a dense, web-like net.

He noted that over 80 spines per leg create a fuzzy net structure.

He and his team will continue studying Odaraia alata to understand why its descendants have thrived, surpassing snails, octopi, and other long-existing sea creatures in prevalence.

“All of these questions are really interesting to me because they speak about the history of our planet.”