Posted on 04/13/2016 4:03:37 PM PDT by JimSEA
A 300 million year-old fossil mystery has been solved by a research team led by the University of Leicester, which has identified that the ancient 'Tully Monster' was a vertebrate -- due to the unique characteristics of its eyes.
Tullimonstrum gregarium or as it is more commonly known the 'Tully Monster', found only in coal quarries in Illinois, Northern America, is known to many Americans because its alien-like image can be seen on the sides of large U-haul trailers which ply the freeways.
Despite being an iconic image -- a fossil with a striped body, large tail, a pair of stalks terminating in dark, oval-shaped 'blobs' and a large elephant trunk-like proboscis at the head end which has a pincer-like claw filled with teeth -- it is a complete mystery as to what kind of extinct animal it was.
Professor Sarah Gabbott from the University of Leicester's Department of Geology said: "Since its discovery over 60 years ago scientists have suggested it is a whole parade of completely different creatures ranging from molluscs to worms -- but there was no conclusive evidence and so speculation continued."
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
It was a "fish" sort of. As a vertebrate, it might be somewhere in our family tree. Those eyes could have come in handy at poker.
Actually, it looks like a Trump supporter.
That’s because it’s more evolved than a Cruz supporter....
Your both wrong it is a direct descendant of the hilldabeast
Nope...it wasn’t wearing a prehistoric pants suit....
It got really, really big and moved into Loch Ness.
Nope. It got really, really big and moved into the White House, twice. Once in the 1990’s and then again in 2009.
No, it looks like Bernie Sanders - old, thought-to-be-extinct, shows his teeth a lot.
I’m thinking with that long snout it was a bottom feeder, digging under the lakebeds and riverbeds for burrowing creatures. That could explain the eyestalks, which would allow it to keep its eyes above the muck watching for predators while it foraged.
Or it could have been an ambush hunter, burying itself on the bottom like an octopus, with just the eyestalks exposed to watch for prey, and using the snout to reach up and snatch anything that swam close enough.
Looking at it with your analysis, it seems quite likely you’ve got it.
I want a couple for my pool!
This topic was posted , just an update or something.
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