Eps 1739: Weirdest fossil finds
— The too lazy to register an account podcast
The podcast discusses some of the most unusual fossil finds in the world. The first one is the Tully Monster, a bizarre creature with a long snout and tentacle-like eyes that lived 307 million years ago. The second is the Hallucigenia, a worm-like creature with spines that lived 505 million years ago. The third is the Sundew plant, which has leaves that can trap and digest insects, and existed in the Jurassic period. Lastly, the Opabinia, which has five eyes and a long trunk with a claw at the end, is a creature that lived 505 million years ago. Each of these fossils offers insight into the unique and varied life forms that have existed over time.
| Seed data: | Link 1 |
|---|---|
| Host image: | StyleGAN neural net |
| Content creation: | GPT-3.5, |
Host
Jerry Wright
Podcast Content
Let's start off with the Tully Monster, named after the place where it was discovered, the Mazon Creek in Illinois. Despite being found in 1955, the Tully Monster continues to remain a mystery to scientists. It was a strange marine creature that lived in shallow seas during the Pennsylvanian era, around 300 million years ago. With a long, snout-like protuberance and big, bulbous eyes, the Tully Monster looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. It was about 14 inches long, and its closest modern-day relative is still unknown.
Next, we have the Hallucigenia, a strange worm-like creature that lived during the Cambrian period, around 505 million years ago. The Hallucigenia's name is very accurate as the scientists that discovered it said it looked like it was hallucinating. With long spines and tentacle-like legs, the Hallucigenia is something out of a nightmare. It was small, only about 0.5 inches long, and lived in the sea.
The next fossil on our list is the Helicoprion. It's a bizarre prehistoric relative of sharks, with a spiral of teeth on its lower jaw that has left scientists baffled for years. What's even stranger is that the Helicoprion's upper jaw seems to be completely missing. For a long time, scientists believed that the Helicoprion's jaw was like a circular saw and that it used it to slash through prey. However, more recent theories suggest that the spiral of teeth was actually located inside the Helicoprion's mouth and used to crush shellfish.
Moving to Australia, we have the Diprotodon. It was the largest marsupial to ever live, weighing up to 2.8 tons and standing at almost 6.5 feet tall. The Diprotodon lived during the Pleistocene Epoch, between 1.6 million and 46,000 years ago. It was a herbivore and roamed the grasslands of Australia. What's strange about the Diprotodon is that despite being closely related to modern-day kangaroos and wombats, it didn't have a pouch. Instead, its young stayed with the mother until they were able to survive on their own.
Now we come to the Heterodontosaurus, a small, herbivorous dinosaur that roamed the Earth during the Jurassic Period, around 200 million years ago. What makes the Heterodontosaurus weird is that it had different types of teeth in its mouth, with some being sharp and others being flat. This suggests that it had a diverse diet, perhaps feeding on both plants and animals. The Heterodontosaurus was about the size of a chicken and had a long tail that it used to balance itself while foraging.
And last but not least, we have the Pterodaustro, a prehistoric flamingo-like bird that lived during the Cretaceous period, around 120 million years ago. It had a long, curved beak which it used to filter-feed in shallow water. What's strange about the Pterodaustro is that it had rows of bony projections in its beak, which were used to help filter out food from the water. Scientists believe that these bony projections would have been similar to the structures found in the mouth of some modern-day flamingos.
So there you have it, some of the strangest fossil finds in history. Fossils have always been intriguing, and they continue to puzzle scientists as we try to understand the mysteries of our planet's past. Who knows what other weird and wonderful creatures are still waiting to be discovered? Thanks for tuning in!