The study of the teeth belonging to a phallic-like creature may uncover the mysteries of the unrecognized prehistoric specimens of the Cambrian period, phys.org reported Wednesday.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge have studied the dental structure of the penis-shaped worm and it has helped identified previously unrecognizable 500-million year old fossils. In what is being called the prehistoric “dentist’s handbook”,
“As teeth are the most hardy and resilient parts of animals, they are much more common as fossils than whole soft-bodied specimens,” research leader Dr. Martin Smith told phys.org.
Dr. Smith is a postdoctoral researcher in Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences. And he posted the results of the new study in the latest issue of Palaeontology.
“But when these teeth — which are only about a millimeter long — are found,” Dr. Smith said to phys.org, “they are easily misidentified as algal spores, rather than as parts of animals. Now that we understand the structure of these tiny fossils, we are much better place to a wide suite of enigmatic fossils.”
The researchers used electron microscopy to study the internal structure of the teeth in these penis worms — also known as priapulids. The worms first appeared during the “Cambrian explosion,” a period of rapid evolution. In fact, the period is when most animal groups first appear on Earth.
Many of the priapulids had various shaped teeth, the study stated, and even some had teeth shaped like a bear claw or some resembled a city skyline.
But what has hindered previous studies is that many of the creatures from the Cambrian period were mainly soft-bodied. So it has been hard to determine how these worm and sponge-like creatures spread across the planet.
The report also pointed out that the penis worm was a vicious predator, eating pretty much anything from other worms to shrimp to other marine creatures. They could turn their mouths inside out and their tooth line throat would resemble something like a prehistoric cheese grater, phys.org reported.
Studies have shown that both modern and Cambrian worms have spent their lives burrowing into the sediment beneath the ocean when species first appeared more than 500 billion years ago.
“Modern penis worms have been pushed to the margins of life, generally living in extreme underwater environments,” Smith told phys.org. “But during the Cambrian, they were fearsome beasts, and extremely successful ones at that.”
Smith’s report also revealed that that penis worm’s teeth weren’t just used for eating. By turning its mouth inside out, the worm could use its teeth as miniature grappling hooks that could help the worm grip surfaces and pull themselves along.
The study examined numerous fossils of Ottoia — a type of penis worm that is the length of a finger — and they originated from the Burgess Shale in Western Canada, which is a hotbed of fossils from the Cambrian period.
The main reason for the study of these penis worms have given the researchers and scientists some insight into how animal life first developed during the Cambrian period.
Using the high-resolution electron and optical microscopy, the researchers were able to expose the complex structure of the worm’s teeth in fine detail for the first time.
As a result, the researchers at Cambridge were able to identify the fossilized teeth of a number of previously unrecognized penis worms.
“Teeth hold all sorts of clues, both modern animals and in fossils,” Smith said in an interview with phys.org. “It’s entirely possible that unrecognized species await discovery in existing fossil collections, just because we haven’t been looking closely enough at their teeth, or in the right way.”
