Hallucigenia The 508 Million Year Old Worm

Hallucigenia. No this isn't a LSD trip though it was named after one. Originally discovered by Simon Conway Morris in 1977 he speculated that the creature, which was 0.5-3.5 cm long, to walk on spines that grew from one side while, he said, it ate from little mouths on the spines on the other side. Now his theory of this little worm has been twisted topsy-turvy and now, Martin Smith of the University of Cambridge, think he has the 508-million-year-old worm finally figured out. He says that the creature lived during the Cambrian explosion when most major animals come into the fossil record.

The invertebrate itself is now described as a worm-like marine animal with legs, spikes, and a head that is hard to differentiate from its tail, its very small and its body is thin as a pin. The part of the animal they thought was the head actually could have been gut contents from being squashed during a submarine landslide. So, by carefully digging and removing the sediment from the other side they revealed its head.

They saw small simple eyes above a mouth complete with a ring of teeth. Its throat was also lined with needle-shaped teeth, which helped to keep the food in as it sucked at its food. It also had feet at the bottom of eight slender legs, complete with claws, and the spines on what is now the top of its body are thought to have been used for protection.

Initially found in Burgess Shale in British Columbia, Canada, Hallucigenia has puzzled scientists for almost 30 years, have they gotten this worm pegged, or is there more up its sleeve to tell us? Only time and careful study will reveal.