Ancient Penis Worm Had Tooth-Lined Throat Resembling a Cheese Grater

Posted on May 14, 2015

Scientists from the University of Cambridge have been studying the teeth of the ancient penis worm. The scientists say some species of penis worm had tooh-lined throats resembling cheese graters. The creatures live 500 million years ago during the Cambrian period. The image above shows a fossil of a recently discovered penis worm species, Ottoia tricuspida.

The scientists say penis worms were voracious predators. They would burrow into the sediment at the bottom of the oceans. Then they would gobble up creatures that crossed their path. The penis worms could turn their mouths inside out to reveal their toothy throat. They could also move around with their mouths inside out by using their teeth like little grappling hooks.

Dr Martin Smith, a postdoctoral researcher in Cambridge's Department of Earth Sciences and the lead author a new research paper on penis worm teeth says in a statement, "Modern penis worms have been pushed to the margins of life, generally living in extreme underwater environments. But during the Cambrian, they were fearsome beasts, and extremely successful ones at that."

Penis worm teeth were less than one millimeter in size. They were scaly based and covered in tiny prickles and hairs. The image below shows what penis worm teeth looked like.

Dr. Smith says, "Taken together, our study has allowed us to compile a 'dentist's handbook' that will help paleontologists recognize a range of early teeth preserved in the fossil record."

The penis worm teeth study also helped researchers identify a previously unknown penis worm species, Ottoia tricuspida, as LiveScience reports. An animation of a penis worm (Ottoia prolifica) can be found here. A research paper on penis worm teeth can be found here in the journal, Palaeontology.

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