Wormlike "Walking Cactus" Fossil Discovered in China

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The odd headline of the hour. From our correspondents at National Geographic:

Fossils of an ancient, spiny creature dubbed a "walking cactus" have been found in China, a new study says.

The 2.4-inch-long (6-centimeter-long) Diania cactiformis had a worm-like body and ten pairs of armored and likely jointed legs. It would have lived about 500 million years ago during a period of rapid evolution called the Cambrian explosion.

You can read the rest - and see an artist's recreation of this bizarre creature - here.


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This page contains a single entry by Richard published on February 25, 2011 2:01 PM.

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