Hallucigenia- A strange fossil that took us 104 years to comprehend

Eva Burgers (G8)

Science and Technology

Published Issue 4 2022-2023

Burgess Shale is a rocky territory in the high mountains between Alberta and British Columbia (Field, Banff) in which many, many, many fascinating fossils have been found. The reason these fossils are so high up is because 488 million years ago, this amazing platform of rock 2,286 meters above sea level, used to be a thriving water bed. The fossils were most likely created by mudslides that buried the animals, and then turned into rock. When the mountains gained elevation over time, the fossils gained lots as well. 

1909 was the year when the north pole was discovered, instant coffee was invented, and the concept of ‘Genes’ was introduced as well. But, one of the smaller discoveries, was one that helped scientists today open up a new line of species, and understand many others. This was a discovery made by Charles Doolittle Walcott, and in Canada. 

A paleontologist named Charles Doolittle Walcott was in the Burgess Shale (Canada, B.C.), where around 60,000 other fossils have been found. While looking through the crumbly rock, Walcott discovered a fossil with a spiked back and tentacle-like arms. He later moved on to name it ‘Canadia Sparsa’. 

Later on, in 1977, another paleontologist named Simon Morris brought the fossils back to attention. He studied the animal, and came to the conclusion that the spikes on the back of the animal weren’t spikes at all, but instead they were stilts to walk on. He also said the tentacles were for eating and sensory, and the blob at the left of the animal was the sac for nourishment, or some liquid they left when they died. He also changed the name to Hallucigenia sparsa. After those conclusions were made, the fossil was out of the question for another whole 14 years. 

In 1991, the Hallucigenia Sparsa was found again at the Cheng Jiang fossil site in China. This time, they disagreed with Simon Morris and said that the hallucigenia’s tentacles were actually its legs, and the spikes were for sensory, and it ate with its mouth. But they didn’t know where the mouth was. 

For a while they thought that the head was a dark blob near the left of its long body, and the researchers at Cheng Jiang left it at that because the fossils were blurry. 

24 years later, paleontologists found even better preserved fossils, in which scientists could examine with enhanced technology and understand the fossil to a point where it was basically in front of their very own eyes. This strange and wonderful discovery animal had a thin head with small eyes and a mouth full of needle-like teeth, with sensory tentacles from its neck to its body, arms with black nail-like feet, and many relatives we can recognise today. 

500 million years later, we’ve seen that the Hallucigenia Sparsa wasn’t the only one in its group. There were also the Dinomischus, Ottoia, Wiwaxia, Trilobites, Archeocyathans, Microdictyon, and Pikia. All of these animals started a new species called Lobopods. Today, these animals are recognizable as velvet worms and arthropods. 

In conclusion, the hallucigenia was a fantastic animal, but there's still so much we don’t know about it, and everything that was around it.