5 very strange creatures that once lived on our planet
Miscellaneous / / November 23, 2021
A pygmy dragon legfly from Kyrgyzstan, ungulate whales and a living baboon carpet.
1. Sharovipteryx - a mini-dragon with wings and legs
Zoologists at the University of Southern California at Los Angeles have praisedWhat the ‘Game of Thrones’ Dragons Might Really Look Like, According to Science / Inside Science Game of Thrones for realistic portrayal of dragon wings. Typically in fantasy art, these creatures have four legs and wings on their backs.
However, this is impossible, since evolution did not foresee animals with six limbs. Dragons in "Game of Thrones" are more believable, because they have only two pairs of legs, and the front is transformed into wings.
But evolution in the real world has created even stranger creatures that no George Martin can imagine.
For example, SharovipteryxC. Gans, I Darevski. Sharovipteryx, a reptilian glider / Paleobiology. This is a gliding reptile, the remains of which were found in the Fergana Valley in Kyrgyzstan. It is assumed that she was a distant relative of the pterosaurs - which, by the way,
not dinosaurs, as you might think, as well, namesake.Only pterosaurs had wings on their front legs. And in the glovipteryx, the membrane was stretched between the hind limbs, and he flew, or rather, planned, with his legs apart.
Sharovipteryx could not boast of outstanding dimensions: its length was only 20 centimeters, and its weight was about 75 grams. AerodynamicallyG. J. Dyke. Flight of Sharovipteryx mirabilis: the world’s first delta ‑ winged glider / Journal of Evolutionary Biology The Kyrgyz mini-dragon was even more efficient than today's flying squirrels and bats, as its outstretched legs and tail worked similar to the deltoid wings of modern fighters. And with the help of the webbing between the front paws, the lizard ensured pitch stability so as not to fall into an uncontrolled spin.
2. Pakitset - a predatory land whale
Whales are mammals. Although they look like fish, but this is an optical illusion, do not pay attention. And there were times in world history when cetaceans did not plow oceanic expanses, sifting plankton through their teeth, and trampled the ground and drove innocent victims, piercing them with powerful fangs.
Take a look at this creation. This is pakicetL. N. Cooper. New middle Eocene archaeocetes (Cetacea: Mammalia) from the Kuldana Formation of northern Pakistan / Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, his name Pakicetus literally translated from Latin as "Pakistani whale". He lived about 50 million years ago and looked like a wolf or a hyena. Its length ranged from 1 to 2 meters. But on the tips of his fingers were not claws, but small hooves, and in general the structure of the paws resembled the legs of pigs or sheep.
Yes, a predatory wolf-like artiodactyl, having herbivorous ancestors and leading a semi-aquatic lifestyle like a seal. No wonder.
Pakicetus hunted both ground prey that came too close to the water, and aquatic animals and fish. Over time, his hooves disappeared, his fingers turned into flippers, his legs and tail grew together, and he turned into a mammal called the ambulocet. And he gave rise to the current cetaceans.
Hardly anyone could have imagined that the predator would someday turn into a peaceful giant that feeds on plankton. But this is exactly what happened.
And yes, in terms of evolutionary biology, this means that whales, deer, pigs, camels, whales and killer whales are related and have common ancestors. Therefore, all these animals are combined into one detachment - the whaletiodactyls.M. Spaulding, M. A. O'Leary, J. Gatesy. Relationships of Cetacea (Artiodactyla) Among Mammals: Increased Taxon Sampling Alters Interpretations of Key Fossils and Character Evolution / PLOS One. Although, it would seem, where are the whales and where are the hooves.
3. Hallucigenia - walking stick with spikes on the back
Perhaps, looking at the picture, you will decide that this is the artist's fantasy on the topic “supposed outlook alien life forms ". But no, this is a real animal. HallucigeniaJ. Liua, J. A. Dunlop. Cambrian lobopodians: A review of recent progress in our understanding of their morphology and evolution / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology - a genus of fossil invertebrates living in the Cambrian period. They are distant relatives of modern tardigrades and arthropods.
For the first time, hallucigenia was discovered on the territory of what is now Canada. She had a long body with many legs and spines on her back. A sort of needle worm with two rows of limbs with claws. In front was a proboscis-like head with teeth and eyes, and also several tentacles.
At first, paleobiologists decided that this awkward creature walked belly up, turning over with thorns. Then, however, we figured out where the back is and where the legs are.
Unfortunately, the hallucigenia could not boast of large dimensions and reached a maximum of 6 centimeters in length.
4. Chalicotherium - a horse that looks like a gorilla
Gorillas are serious guys whom nature has endowed with powerful paws and developed latissimus dorsi. Very impressive primates.
But gorillas are so cool just because they've never met chalicotherians.M. C. Coombs. The chalicothere Metaschizotherium bavaricum (Perissodactyla, Chalicotheriidae, Schizotheriinae) from the Miocene (MN5) Lagerstatte of Sandelzhausen (Germany): description, comparison, and paleoecological significance / Paläontologische Zeitschrift. These gentlemen are relativesJ. J. Hooker, D. Dashzeveg. The origin of chalicotheres (Perissodactyla, Mammalia) / Paleontology horses that have not yet had time to grow hooves.
Chalicotheria could well have piled on any King Kong. At least they coped with bear dogs and saber-toothed cats without much difficulty.
With such hands, one mighty right hook was enough to knock down any predator.
They had short heads, like those of a zebra, and extremely muscular forepaws, with which they walked, leaning on their knuckles. The size of a typical chalicotherium is 150 centimeters at the withers and as much as 600 kilograms of live weight. They lived at the end of the Miocene epoch, about 5.3 million years ago, in Europe.
5. Dickinsonia - a living rug with ruffles
About 560 million years ago, conditions on our planet were not at all like today. The land was lifeless, the continents different. moon was located closer to the Earth, which is why the ebb and flow were stronger, and the year lasted 400 days. This time was called EdiacaranM. A. Fedonkin. The Rise of Animals: Evolution and Diversification of the Kingdom Animalia period.
Gardens of Ediacara, that is, the seabed of those times, was a paradise. Then they did not yet know predation - living creatures simply had not yet thought of the idea of "catching up and devouring one's neighbor".
One of the most interesting and largest representatives of the Ediacaran biota was DickinsoniaS. Jensen. Trace fossil preservation and the early evolution of animals / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. It was a round living carpet up to one and a half meters in size, divided into segments.
Dickisonia was able to crawl with the help of frill-legs along the edge. But, apparently, she preferred to lead a sedentary lifestyle and gradually increased in size. Dickinsonia fed on microorganisms, collecting them from the bottom of the sea.
Scientists have long argued about what it is. Due to the cholesterol content in the body of Dickinsonia, most biologists believe that it is after all an animal. Although some argue that Dickinsonia was a fungus or even belonged to the now extinct kingdom of nature, unknown to science.
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Cover: Wikimedia Commons / Stanton F. Fink / Lifehacker