Newfound fossils of the extinct arthropod Odaraia alata recently provided scientists with a first glimpse of Odaraia’s jawlike structures, called mandibles. He conducted the research at the Royal Ontario Museum while pursuing a doctoral degree in the University of Toronto’s department of ecology and evolutionary biology. For the new investigation, the researchers examined around 150 fossils collected by Royal Ontario Museum during expeditions between 1975 and 2000. The carapace folded over Odaraia’s limbs, so it may have been unable to walk on the seafloor, according to the Royal Ontario Museum. More mandibulate mysteriesOne feature that puzzled and intrigued the scientists had never been seen before in Cambrian animals: a single toothlike structure between Odaraia’s mandibles.

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Persons: Odaraia, Alejandro Izquierdo, López, ”, “, Jean, Bernard Caron, Joanna Wolfe, ” Wolfe, Wolfe, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, Royal Ontario Museum, Royal Society, Biological Sciences, University of Toronto’s, Harvard University, “, Scientific Locations: Burgess, British Columbia, Canada, centipedes