Reconstruction of Titanokorys gainesi by Lars Fields. Source: royalsocietypublishing.org
It’s not every day that scientists are lucky enough to discover a brand new species let alone new genus – or category of living things which share common characteristics. So when they do, there’s understandably a bit of a buzz around the story. Science writer, Rachel Fritts reports that findings of a brand new ancient sea predator have been unveiled with a massive head which would have ruled the bottom of the oceans more than half a billion years ago!
The enormous fossil, discovered in the Canadian Rockies by paleontologist Joseph Moysiuk, is of a creature said to have existed at a time when there was an explosion of animal diversity on Earth, when these and many other kinds of predators would have scooped up prey from the sea beds.
Because of its enormous sci-fi like head, the creature has been referred to as ‘The Mothership’ – an even larger version of another sea-dwelling creature found at the same site two years earlier that was dubbed the ‘Millennium Falcon.’ As a result it’s Latin name, Titanokorys gainesi – or Titan’s helmet – seems very apt!
You can read more about the discovery on the Science website.
