Funding fossils can tell us a whole lot about the creatures that lived on our planet millions of years ago, but observing the bones and skin can only tell us so much. That’s why this 520 million year old fossil is so amazing, as it still has the brain and all of the other insides intact.
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00:00Finding fossils can tell us a whole lot about the creatures that lived on our planet millions
00:07of years ago, but observing the bones and skin can only tell us so much.
00:11That's why this 520 million year old fossil is so amazing, as it still has the brain and
00:16all of the other insides intact.
00:19The prehistoric creature was discovered in China, and it's only around the size of a
00:22sesame seed.
00:23However, the discovery is gargantuan, as it is a new genus and species of urethropod called
00:29Wa-Yuan-Chi.
00:30It was found complete with all of its internal systems still in there, and since it's related
00:34to all modern spiders, crabs, and insects, this single find should help researchers fill
00:39in many evolutionary gaps in our current biological understanding.
00:42The researchers used 3D imaging to get a better look inside, finding the creature was at a
00:47particular point in its developmental period of evolution, one rarely seen by scientists.
00:52Paleontologist Martin Smith says, this find is literally a dream come true, saying recently,
00:57I already knew that this simple worm-like fossil was something special, but when I saw
01:01the amazing structures preserved under its skin, my jaw just dropped.
01:05How could these intricate features have avoided decay, and still be here to see, half a billion
01:10years later?