Ancient Selkirkia Worms, Resembling ‘Dune’ Sandworms, Found to Have Lived Longer Than Previously Thought
In a discovery that seems straight out of a science fiction movie, researchers have uncovered evidence that ancient Selkirkia worms, with heads covered in rows of curved spines, persisted much longer than previously believed. These bizarre creatures, which lived inside long, cone-shaped tubes, were some of the most common predators on the seafloor during the Cambrian Explosion over 500 million years ago.
Described as resembling the razor-toothed sandworms from the desert planet of Arrakis in “Dune: Part Two,” these formidable predators measured only an inch or two in length but were a nightmare for small invertebrates that crossed their path. Thankfully, these ravenous worms disappeared hundreds of million years ago, or so scientists thought.
In a new study published in the journal Biology Letters, researchers from Harvard University described a new species of Selkirkia worm that lived 25 million years after this group was believed to have gone extinct. The fossils of these tubular worms were discovered in Morocco’s Fezouata Formation, dating back to the Early Ordovician period, around 488 million years ago.
The discovery of this new species, named Selkirkia tsering, not only expands the temporal record of these ancient predators but also confirms that they lived in environments closer to the South Pole during the Ordovician period. This finding challenges previous evolutionary models that suggested Cambrian creatures were quickly replaced during the Ordovician era.
According to paleontologist Jean-Bernard Caron, this discovery highlights the resilience of some Cambrian creatures, like Selkirkia worms, which experienced little evolutionary change over the 40 million years they spent devouring other seafloor inhabitants. While their tube-based body form eventually went out of evolutionary style, these worms successfully stuck around longer than many of the Cambrian’s other bizarre wonders.
Dr. Karma Nanglu, the lead researcher on the study, remarked that sometimes reality is stranger than fiction, even when it comes to big screen look-alikes. He compared the Selkirkia worms to the sandworms from “Dune,” stating, “It’s like if the sandworm from Dune is building a gigantic house around itself. No matter how wild the thing you see on a screen is, I guarantee that there’s something in nature, even if it’s been extinct for a long time, that’s way wilder.”
