A real 3-hit combo of tumblr posts rn
whys this a bulk reblog
reblog pricing is through the roof these days, gotta bundle up to save
snow bonk
its so evil that im the only person that lives in texas
/spawn human_man id:895_jerma 10000
this is a desperate for people to hang out with post NOT a jerma post dawn
/kill human_man id:895_jerma 10001
can someone in texas hang out with me now
/spawn entity:the_killer 1
Why Lantian fossils are so cool
A lot of you might have heard of the wonderfully weird Ediacaran biota, with the likes of Dickinsionia, Spriggina or Tribradichium expressing unique body plans and symmetries nearly unknown in later fossils, and still a huge mystery for paleontologists.
But did you know we could go further back?
All those fossils date from the late Ediacaran, following the Gaskiers glaciation. Fortunately, we happen to have an even earlier fossil bed, preserving the creatures that lived before this fateful event: the Lantian formation, in China!
Lantian-era fossils are even different from later Ediacaran ones, so much that paleontologists still don't know if some of them should be interpreted as animals, as macroalgae or as something else entirely!
Here's Lantianella, appearing to be some sort of tentacle-bearing crown, reminding of crinoids, sea anemones or lophophorates:
There's also the related Piyuania (left), showing a similar central structure covered in a sheath of tentacles, and their elongated cousins Qianchuania (right, A-F) and Xiuningella (right, G-I)!
These creatures appear unrelated to lifeforms known today, but also to the more characteristic later Ediacaran fossils (vendobionts), making them an even more ancient mystery at the dawn of modern complex life!