Fossil site reveals giant arthropods dominated the seas 470 million years ago

Giant arthropods are thought to have dominated the seas 470 million years ago.

The site at Taichoute was once underwater but is now a desert.

The giant arthropods could be up to 2m long, according to previously described specimen.

The site and its fossil record are very different from what has been described before, according to an international research team.

Taichoute opens new avenues for paleontological and ecological research, according to them.

The importance of the Fezouata Biota in completing our understanding of past life on Earth is highlighted by the fact that everything is new about this locality.

The giant arthropods we discovered have not yet been fully identified, some may belong to previously described species of the Fezouata Biota, and some will definitely be new species.

Their large size and free- swimming lifestyle suggest they played a unique role in these ecosystems.

One of the most important geological sites in the world is the Fezouata Shale, which is important for understanding the evolution of the Early Ordovician period.

Fossils discovered in these rocks include mineralised elements, but some also show exceptional preservation of soft parts such as internal organs, which allow scientists to investigate the anatomy of early animal life on Earth.

The Fezouata Biota has a small component of nektonic animals.

The Taichoute fossils are a few million years older than the Zagora fossils and are dominated by arthropods.

The University of Lausanne's Romain Vaucher said that carcasses were transported to a relatively deep marine environment by underwater landslides.

The professor from the University of Lausanne said that brachiopods were found attached to arthropod fragments and that they acted as nutrient stores for the community.

The importance of taichoute is not only due to the dominance of large nektonic arthropods.

New trilobites are found in Taichoute.

The senior author of the paper, from the University of Lyon, said that the Fezouata Biota keeps surprising them with new discoveries.

There is a paper in the journal Scientific Reports about new fossils from the Fezouatabiota.

There are new fossils from the Fezouata biota.

Journal information: Scientific Reports

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