Giant worm fossils found in North Greenland have revealed a past dynasty of ancient predators that is totally new to science.
The newly discovered animals, which scientists have named Timorebestia—translating to "terror beast" in Latin—may be among the earliest carnivorous animals to have colonized the water column over 500 million years ago.
"Timorebestia were giants of their day and would have been close to the top of the food chain," Jakob Vinther, a professor of macroevolution at England's University of Bristol, said in a statement. "That makes it equivalent in importance to some of the top carnivores in modern oceans, such as sharks and seals back in the Cambrian period."
The fossils were found in the Sirius Passet—a sedimentary deposit dating back over half a billion years ago and located in Peary Land, North Greenland. The site, which was discovered by accident in 1984, offers an exciting opportunity for scientists to learn more about ancient ecosystems and how these ancient ancestors have evolved into the living animals we see today.
"Over a series of expeditions to the very remote Sirius Passet in the furthest reaches of North Greenland more than 82.5 degrees north, we have collected a great diversity of exciting new organisms," said Tae-Yoon Park of the Korea Polar Research Institute, who was also involved in the research, in a statement.
"Thanks to the remarkable, exceptional preservation in Sirius Passet we can also reveal exciting anatomical details including their digestive system, muscle anatomy, and nervous systems," Tae-Yoon said.
While the modern relatives of these giant worms exist near the bottom of the food chain, feeding off zooplankton and small fish, these "terror beasts" played a significantly more dominant role in their surrounding ecosystem. They show the remains of larger, swimming arthropods—a group of animals that includes modern insects and shrimp—in their digestive systems.
"Our research shows that these ancient ocean ecosystems were fairly complex with a food chain that allowed for several tiers of predators," Vinther said.
The discovery was published in the journal Science Advances and provides an exciting insight into the ecosystem dynamics of the early Cambrian period, 500 million years ago.
"We have many more exciting findings to share in the coming years that will help show how the earliest animal ecosystems looked like and evolved," Tae-Yoon said.
Do you have an animal or nature story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about evolution? Let us know via nature@newsweek.com.
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Pandora Dewan is a Senior Science Reporter at Newsweek based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on science, health ... Read more
