Paleontologists Uncover the Preserved Brain of One of the World's First Predators

Paleontologists may have just uncovered the brain of one of our planet's first known predators. They've found an exquisitely preserved brain in the fossil remains of a creature that lived in the Lower Cambrian, about 520 million years ago.

The fossil is of a creature that was one of the top predators of its time. It was part of a group of animals called anomalocaridids, which translates to "abnormal shrimp." These arthropods were first discovered during the 19^th century, but not properly identified until the early 1980s. Now, scientists have learned more about them with this latest discovery and may even be able to properly place them on the tree of life.

"It turns out the top predator of the Cambrian had a brain that was much less complex than that of some of its possible prey and that looked surprisingly similar to a modern group of rather modest worm-like animals," said Nicholas Strausfeld, one of the researchers, in a news release.

The brain is contained within the fossil of a new species, named Lyrarapax unguispinus. It resembles the neuroanatomy of today's onychophorans, which are wormlike animals with stubby unjointed legs that end in a pair of tiny claws. Like onychophorans, this species had a simple brain located in front of the mouth and a pair of ganglia located in the front of the optic nerve and at the base of their long feelers.

"These top predators in the Cambrian are defined by just their single pair of appendages, wicked-looking graspers, extending out from the front of their head," said Strausfeld. "These are totally different from the antennae of insects and crustaceans. Such frontally disposed appendages are not found in any other living animals with the exception of velvet worms."

The findings reveal a bit more about this species and show that these predators had more brawn than brains. In fact, the new findings suggest that it's possible that these predators drove the evolution of more complex brains.

"With the evolution of dedicated and highly efficient predators, the pressure was on other animals to be able to detect and recognize potential danger and rapidly coordinate escape movements," said Strausfeld. "These requirements may have driven the evolution of more complex brain circuitry."

The findings are published in the journal Nature.