CNN Indonesia
Saturday, 15 Apr 2023 09:16 WIB
Jakarta, CNNIndonesia —
Animals sea with strange shapes and forms ever lived in Earth millions of years ago. Check out some of the following examples.
These animals come from all over the world’s oceans. Their existence is also known from the fossils found by experts.
Until now, research on ancient animal fossils is still being carried out. Quoted from Live Sciencehere is a list of animals with strange looks from ancient times.
1. Tanystropheus hydroides
These animals lived in the Tethys Sea on the ancient continent Pangea during the Triassic period about 242 million years ago. Scientists identified it through a strange fossil located in an area that is now the border between Switzerland and Italy.
Tanystropheus had a strange neck that looked like a three meter broom handle. That number is three times longer than their torso.
2. Helicoprion
|
s exhibition, a journey through 600 millions years of Victoria’s life and landscapes, in Melbourne on July 1, 2010. The exhibition tells the story of the Australian state’s evolution, of land geology and species, beginning hundreds of millions of years ago when Australia was part of a super-continent and how evolution has shaped Victoria as we know today. AFP PHOTO/William WEST (Photo credit should read WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images)” title=”helicoprion” />Foto: AFP via Getty Images/WILLIAM WEST |
This animal is also known as the sawtooth shark. The name comes from the shape of the mouth which has spiral jaws equipped with sharp teeth.
Helicoprion lived on Earth in the Devonian period approximately 419.2 million to 358.9 million years ago.
3. Lyrarapax unguispinus
Lyrarapax’s form was completely different from the animals that exist today. Dating from the Cambrian period, Lyrarapax has a claw-like face that makes it some of the strangest arthropods ever to exist.
Lyrarapax can grow up to 1 meter and have claw-like faces on the front of the head to catch prey. Lyararapax was also the world’s first predatory apex arthropod.
4. Sea Scorpion
|
The sea scorpion lived in the Permian era. (iStockphoto/Aunt_Spray) |
Sea scorpions or eurypterids are odd animals in terms of size. Even though it is called a scorpion, this animal can measure up to 2.5 meters.
Sea scorpions lived about 200 million years ago until they became extinct at the end of the Permian period, around 298.9 million to 251.9 million years ago.
5. Saccorhytus Coronarius
This animal can be said to have an unusual appearance so it is called a wrinkled sac without an anus. It lived in the Cambrian period about 500 million years ago.
Its micro fossils were found in China and are similar in size to minions. During his life, Coronarius allegedly spent a lot of time in the seafloor sediments to catch prey.
6. Diplocaulus magnicornis
Diplocaulus magnicornis has a boomerang-like head. For this reason, it is included in the category of the strangest ancient animals.
The experts were confused by the shape of the head. But they suspect the shape played a role in the way D. magnicornis swam.
This animal lived about 275 million years ago during the Permian period. The fossils were found by experts in the area that is now Texas, United States.
7. Dunkleosteus Terelli
Dunkleosteus Terelli lived in the Devonian period. When the initial bones were found in Cleveland 150 years ago, the size of this animal is predicted to reach 9.1 meters.
But a 2023 study in the journal Diversity refutes that. According to recent research, Dunkleosteus was ‘only’ 4 meters long but very fat.
D. tereli is a super predator that has saw-like jaws to cut its prey.
8. Nothosaurus
|
Nothosaurus three-dimensional illustration. (Photo: iStockphoto/Warpaintcobra) |
Nothosaurus has a body length of 7 meters. This predator with the full name Nothosaurus zhangi has a 65 cm lower jaw that functions to pounce on small prey.
N. zhangi lived about 245 million years ago in what is now southwest China.
(lth)
