Scientists Recreate 3D Image Of Ancient Sea Creature

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While to the ordinary observer this may look like a goeey green blob, according to researchers at London's Imperial College, this is exactly what the Drakozoon, one of the world's oldest known living creature looked like, when it inhabited the earth, over 400 million years ago.

The 3-D image of the soft-bodied cone shaped Drakozoon that sported a 'hood', was created using the only known fossil of the creature, discovered six years ago in Hertfordshire, England, glued to the shell of a brachiopod.

To construct the image, researchers first sliced the fossil into 200 pieces - They then took a picture of each piece and fed all of them into a computer, which put it all together, to create these stunning life-like, 3D images.

The image has allowed them to not only envision what some of the earth's earliest inhabitants looked like, but also, provide an insight into how they lived.

The scientists believe that the sea creature, estimated to be only 3mm long, attached itself to rocks or other hard-shelled fish and lived off microscopic creatures, which it caught using its tentacles. While it is not very apparent from the images, the scientists were able to discern eight deep ridges, which they think was the beginning of the evolution of animals developing repeat body parts, similar to what the modern caterpillar looks like today.

The find and the subsequent research are groundbreaking since it is extremely rare to find such a perfect fossil of a soft-bodied creature. That's because they tend to decompose before they can be preserved in sediment. This particular Drakozoon happened to be living in an area that got covered in volcanic ash following an eruption, allowing for a perfect specimen.

sources:scientificcomputing.com, dailymail.co.uk, blogs.discovermagazine.com

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60 Comments
  • emilybaqt
    emilybaqtabout 13 years
    I wished on a star to become a daughter of Posioden and it came true so this is extrordinary! I love sea creatures!
    • maddy123
      maddy123over 13 years
      i dont get it ???
      • danielover 13 years
        GROSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
        • chekoover 13 years
          freaky
          • leah, it doesnt.over 13 years
            leah, it doesnt.
            • cheerprincessover 13 years
              that is really random!
              • lalalalalalaaaaaover 13 years
                "yawn" sooooooo boring
                • coconutover 13 years
                  i want to see that one day it looks cool
                  • muzik manover 13 years
                    it looks uuuuugly! why did they call it a drakozoon?
                    • eanover 13 years
                      wierd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!