A 450-million-year-old fossil of an ancient creature related to the modern-day spider was recovered encased in fool’s gold in upstate New York.
The new species is distantly related to arachnids like horseshoe crabs and scorpions — but in appearance, it’s a far cry from any spider.
The lomankus edgecombei creature, belonging to an arthropod group called the megacheirans, has a single long, modified leg at the front of its body to capture prey.
The recovered arachnid had lived in a cutthroat environment with little oxygen during its time. The limited air allowed for iron pyrite, or fool’s gold, to replace parts of its body after it was buried, creating the perfect formula for a gold 3D fossil.
The megacheiran was found in upstate New York at the Beecher’s Trilobite Bed by a research team led by the University of Oxford. The famous layer of rock in Cleveland, NY is known for containing numerous well-preserved fossils.
The newest find was entirely preserved in fool’s gold, creating a “spectacularly preserved” 3D model of the arachnid, Luke Parry, an associate professor at the University of Oxford’s Department of Science, said.
The 3D fossil is so real-looking that the lomankus edgecombei castings “look as if they could just get up and scuttle away” and have provided scientists with telling information about the species.
“Part of the key to this success is their highly adaptable head and its appendages, that has adapted to various challenges like a biological Swiss army knife,” Parry told the University of Oxford News Office.
“As well as having their beautiful and striking golden colour, these fossils are spectacularly preserved.”
Experts celebrated the discovery and believe that it can help provide a clearer explanation of how arthropods evolved the modified leg found on the lomankus edgecombei’s head to modern-day versions.
Many other arachnids distantly related to the discovered megacheiran have similar features on their heads, like fangs and pincers on spiders and scorpions.
The new find, however, has whip-like hairs that indicate the creature may have used its modified front leg to sense the environment, similar to how insects like butterflies rely on their antennas.
The study detailing the discovery and the team’s findings was published in ScienceDirect.
