Welp, looks like I've been trolled by the Burgess Shale.

[stellarwind]

http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/95066409.html

Yup. It's official. Nectocaris is no longer a bizarre creature that resembles a fish body with a shrimplike head.

Case of mistaken identity.

J/K SCIENCE IT'S ACTUALLY A PROTO-CEPHALOPOD.

which makes one wonder just how exactly does one mistake this:


Nectocaris pteryx a-la 2010.

for this


Nectocaris pteryx a-la 1976.

Man, what about 40 34 years of research do to a creature. Don't get me wrong - being a huge Cephalopod fan, I find the new interpretation adorable as all fuck - but it oddly feels like a downgrade - or at least like the Burgess Shale just royally trolled Science. But then, considering Anomalocaris was considered to be four distinctively different animals before they realized the pieces fit together... Eh.

... Whatever. It's still cute.

Comments

[maniackatie.livejournal.com]

It is a cute little thing ^^ *reads the article* XD

[maniackatie.livejournal.com]

And heh, that's science research for you. You think you have a solid grasp on the research until one new (often times minuscule) bit of info emerges that throws eeeverything out of whack. Happens so often in Astronomy that I rarely take anything as 100% factual anymore. LU SCIENCE! :'D

[kapostrophe.livejournal.com]

34 years, not 40.

[stellarwind.livejournal.com]

Corrected since the accuracy mattered so much to you. >>;

[kapostrophe.livejournal.com]

No, the accuracy did not matter 'so much', it's general mathematic law to round up or down to the nearest ten is all. =/