By: Emma Xing

Recently, scientists made an almost impossible discovery– a worm that lived around half a billion years ago. The small and fragile organism’s organs were preserved so well, which is very rare.
The scientists found the larva was found in China and called it Youti Yuanshi. The worm lived almost 520 million years ago and was an early relative of arthropods, which includes spiders, centipedes, crabs, and insects.

Dr. Martin Smith, who published a paper on this larva said, “The exciting thing about this fossil is that you can see all sorts of internal details.” He explained this was one of the reasons that this discovery was special.

At the Diamond Light Source Facility in Hardwell, Oxfordshire, Dr. Smith and his team in Durham created 3-D images of the worm using special equipment. The facility helped the scientists to produce intense beams of light, which is how they were able to see the worm’s organs.

The scientists were shocked to find that the brain and nervous system was still intact, even after a very long period of time. Dr. Smith explains that this helps them understand how insects, such as butterflies, were able to develop complicated brains and other organs.

“I already knew that this simple worm-like fossil was something special, but when I saw the amazing structures preserved under its skin, my jaw just dropped. How could these intricate features have avoided decay and still be here to see half a billion years later?” Dr. Smith said.