BIZARRE PHYLUM FOSSIL DISCOVERED IN

BRAZILIAN NATIONAL PARK

• Scientists from the University of San Paulo now studying the fossil • The creature may be from an extinct species that thrived 3 billion years ago • Reports indicate there may be several fossil beds with dozens of remains Artist rendition of the newly discovered Phylum now baffling scientists. Some 4 billion years before park worker Bello Juan Rodriguez brought scientists and archaeologists to Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses, in Eastern Brazil, an ancient animal the size of an adult hippopotamus died and left its fossilized remains in the rainy, wet mud turned stone. During the great expanses of geologic time season, continental drift occurred, moving to their present positions, the landscape among the dunes filled with freshwater lagoons, prevented from draining due to the impermeable rock beneath. Once the park came about, a large range of species, including four listed as endangered, had become a popular destination for eco-tourists. One of such eco-tourist Emil Juan Garcia, who stumbled on what was thought to have been a weird jutting rock. A report was quickly made and a team of experts were called to the scene. A team of Brazilian researchers of the Palaeontology Department from the University of San Paulo, led by lead Dr. Emilio Santos, discovered the fossil of an unclassified Panarthropoda that lived an estimated 3 billion years ago. Determining the time period from which the animal lived was relatively easy as the reserve is composed mainly of expansive fragmented stone craton, which formed during the late Archean period. The hard part so far is identifying the Panarthropoda whose bone structure and features totally differs from any known large invertebrate animal from any period. Right: Dr. Emilio Santos of the Palaeontology Department from the University of San Paulo. He is the lead for the university on the investigation of the newly discovered fossil. Center: The dune fields of the Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses at sunset. Left: Location of the park in Brazil. The ancient fossil on park land were accidentally discovered about last May by Baía de São José resident Bello Juan Rodriguez, a part time staff park and amateur geologist who also works at the National Mining Museum of Paulo, who have been working to preserve the treasures from residential development for decades. He had not recognized the importance of the find. The lead scientist, Dr Emilio Santos has stated that a lot more work needs to be done in order to identify the creature. "The natural boundaries of the park coincide with the geological remains of the first continents and it is possible animals remains could have been deposited during the continental shift from old to new lands. This discovery upsets the current theories of how and when life began on Earth", he said during the press briefing that followed the discovery. Santos stated the species was living around the time when only bacterial life was supposed to have just appeared on the Earth during the Archean Period and advanced biological forms were not supposed to have evolved as complex lifeforms. Scientists believe the fossil may be related to an extinct family class of Panarthropoda which includes the Cicada (upper left) the Horseshoe Crab (lower left), velvet worms (middle low and upper right) and common millipedes. The class also includes centipedes, caterpillars, arthropods and Tardigrada. The fossil reveals to scientists a lot about how the creature appeared. It also provides puzzling clues on how the creature walked and swam, an how it could have adapted to a water environment. Digestive and reproduction methods, as well as its diet and routine are even more elusive. Yet Santos reported that while scientists have long held the theory model of the early Earth, where the continents were part of a larger super continent called Pangea during the Archean Period, a new model has emerged. That of the first formed continent called Yidath. In this new model, Yidath was the size of Australia and surrounded by a single, worldwide sea. The Iandmass was a familiar range of mountains, forested valleys, deserts and plains, which supported a diverse biological sampling of strange, extinct and newly discovered fossils, a different view from the fiery atmosphere and volcanic land forms that were thought to dominate the 4 billion year old Earth. Santos said the fossil shares some characteristics of others found near the south end of the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park and Valley of Menos Dunes, just east of the Baía de São José. but no funding has been available for investigation. He says the newly discovered fossils and rocks sheets in the discovered area are just one of the reasons it should be protected. He went on to state that one of their studies of the creature would be to try and identify any possible living relatives, as closely related as possible. However, Dr. Santos stated that "...having been related possibly to Panarthropoda, who's modern evolutionary descendants are now related to the modern Tardigrada, and in the class of clade containing the extant phyla Arthropoda, Tardigrada and Onychophora, this may be an extinct class of animal that was not able to continue evolutionarily to the modern day." This would involve the identification of it's parts and body structure as it may relate to existing multi-segmented legged animals and other closely related animals such as velvet worms. Professor of Geology Jorge Bello Gonzalez, also from the University of San Paulo expressed disbelief at the find and reiterated its importance “The Amazonian Craton is a geologic province located in here in South America. It occupies a large portion of the central, north and eastern part of the continent. The craton is the remains of previous continents, sunk eons ago, that collided with new landmasses and left their geological imprint” he stated “If this creature is from that period, then its existence rewrites all the theories as to the beginning of life on the planet. ” Though the north section of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park is closed as excavations are still ongoing, a large section is still accessible to credentialed scientists who wish to make their own discoveries. The best route of entry is flight to the regional capital of São Luís, and then travel by jeep to the interior of the park from Barreirinhas.