A complete picture of a mysterious monster that existed 307 million years ago was found out

Approximately 542 million to 251 million years ago from the present agePaleozoicA mysterious creature that inhabited the sea of ​​"Turimont Sturm"is. Although it is said that it was swimming in Utsumi which existed around the current state of Illinois in the state of America in the present, it has a character which is too bizarre, and for half a century from the discovery of fossils, no one can grasp the details It was a mysterious living creature. The details of such Turimon Sturm finally became clear.

The 'Tully monster' is a vertebrate: Nature: Nature Publishing Group
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature16992.html


307 - million - year - old "monster" fossil identified at last | Ars Technica
http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/03/307-million-year-old-monster-fossil-identified-at-last/

Francis Tally of France first discovered fossils of Turimon Sturm. He finds fossils of Turimont Sturm in a small animal fossil of only 10 cm, discovered in Illinois in 1958. And, Mr. Tally attached the scientific name "Tullimonstrum" to this mysterious creature, which is also known as the "Tully monster" nickname.


The whole picture of Turimont Sturm, which was clarified from fossil analysis, is as shown in the image below. The tip of a part like a handle extending long from the body is bifurcated open and it can be thought that this is a mouth because a sharp object like a tooth can be seen. Also, there are gills in the body, swim in the sea using the tail fin of the rear. It can be inferred that the eyes are also very characteristic, extending from the body to the left and right and maintaining a wide viewing angle.


Turimon Sturm is a living thing in the late Paleozoic era (about 359.22 million to 299 million years ago) in the coal. at that time,Great BasinIt is thought that it was a huge Utsumi and it is believed that Turimont Sturm inhabited here. Because the trees of this age were clustered, high levels of oxygen are filled with the atmosphere and it is 8 feetA huge arthropodIt is thought that many mysterious creatures were inhabited.

The research team who published the paper on Turimont Sturm in Nature has thoroughly analyzed the fossil inside and outside using scanning electron microscopy and as a result it has surprisingly been discovered that Turimon which is considered to be an invertebrate It is clear that Sturm has spiny-like things. Until now, the archaeologists thought that "Turimont Sturm is an invertebrate and may be an ancestor of the current snail", but the structure where the mouth and the intestine are combined is a hint to imagine the skeleton, It seems that it was revealed that it was an organism such as eclipse and lamprey.


Although eclipse and lamprey have sharp teeth in their mouths, "The structure of the mouth of Turimont Sturm reminds us that they would have grabbed food at the branching mouth and rubbed with the tongue organ." The authors of the article wrote.