This Prehistoric Sea Creature Was Once The Largest Animal On Earth (GGT: Science)

[GennGreymane]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/0...hp_ref=science

(DAMN NATURE, YOU SCARY!)

Pristine fossils recently unearthed in southeastern Morocco have been identified as the remains of a bizarre sea creature that -- with a body that spanned about seven feet -- was once the largest animal on Earth.

The fossils date back 480 million years to the Palaeozoic Era and reveal that Aegirocassis benmoulae was an anomalocaridid, an extinct kind of arthropod -- which is a group of species that includes crustaceans, arachnids, and insects.

"Aegirocassis is a truly remarkable looking creature," Dr. Derek Briggs, a Yale University paleontologist and co-author of a paper about the discovery, said in a written statement. “We were excited to discover that it shows features that have not been observed in older Cambrian anomalocaridids — not one but two sets of swimming flaps along the trunk, representing a stage in the evolution of the two-branched limb, characteristic of modern arthropods such as shrimps."

Its a very interesting creature! Lets discuss other interesting creatures too! BTW this guy was totally the former MVP of the planet.

[apepi]

That looks like a pokemon.

[Iphie]

That is just a beautiful creature, we can only imagine what else lurked in the primordial oceans.

[Pann]

According to the BBC it was about 2m long so it is far from being the largest creature to have ever lived.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31837024

[SidFwuff]

According to the BBC it was about 2m long so it is far from being the largest creature to have ever lived.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31837024

The post and the article it links to says "was once the largest"

[GennGreymane]

According to the BBC it was about 2m long so it is far from being the largest creature to have ever lived.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31837024

"was once the largest", during its time it was. (as far as we know)

[Pann]

The post and the article it links to says "was once the largest"

Yeah, I saw that as soon as I hit reply. D'oh.

[GennGreymane]

all good broski

[Mormolyce]

"was once the largest", during its time it was. (as far as we know)

It's very misleading. More like saying "once upon a time everything was smaller than this".

Still huge for an arthropod though.

[Templar 331]

I wonder if it tastes like shrimp or lobster. :P

[Techno-Druid]

I wonder if it tastes like shrimp or lobster. :P

Probably like boiled squid excrement...

[lockedout]

I wonder if it tastes like shrimp or lobster. :P

It tastes like chicken obviously.

[GennGreymane]

It tastes like chicken obviously.

or like fossil

[lockedout]

or like fossil

I never ate one of their watches. Are they tasty?

[GennGreymane]

I never ate one of their watches. Are they tasty?

soooo goood, tastes like prehistoric rock

[Bartumus22]

Yeah, biggest title belongs to this guy:

[lockedout]

Yeah, biggest title belongs to this guy:

It's amazing they were able to get those stone surfboards to float.