Scientists have been able to classify the "Tully monster" age of 307 million years

    The animal looks like one of the paleontologist’s nightmares.



    The extinct animal of the species Tullimonstrum gregarium, also known as the “Tully monster”, refers to those living organisms that are difficult to systematize. In addition, it looks very strange even when you consider that the “monster” lived 307 million years ago. The animal ate with the help of a claw, framing the mouth opening. And the hole was located at the end of a long "trunk". Tulli's eyes were on both sides of the body, and were located at the ends of an unusual elongated outgrowth on the body. Actually, the head here is a single whole with the body, it is not possible to distinguish any parts of the body except the tail. The size of the representatives of the species ranges from 8-35 cm.

    The body was soft, boneless. Since the discovery in 1958 of a fossil representing the remains of Tully, paleontologists have been trying to place a view on the evolutionary tree of life. And only now, when other representatives of this species were found, Tulli was able to classify. As it turned out, the animal is a relatively close relative of modern lampreys.



    As it turned out, Tullimonstrum gregarium already had a chord. This prototype of the spine in Tulli is very similar to what was found in the ancient mixins Gilpichthys greenei. Tulli's


    holotype

    Scientists previously suggested that Tullimonstrum gregarium could be a worm, a mollusk, or even an arthropod (the strangest assumption, based on the structure of Tulli's body). But his chord puts everything in place. Nevertheless, there are still more questions than answers.

    “The strange morphology of Tullimonstrum gregarium suggests that this animal led a lifestyle very different from that of modern lampreys,” says paleobiologist James Lamsdell.

    “The short body and tail also allow us to say that the animal was swimming, making rapid movements. Unlike lampreys, it was an active predator that grabbed prey with the help of a proboscis, and scraped soft tissues with its tongue. The eyes gave the animal a wide viewing angle, allowing it to focus on the victim at the time of capture, ”says the scientist.

    Lived Tully in the place of present Illinois, swimming in the thickness of the warm water of the Carboniferous ocean.

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