A 500-million-year-old, three-eyed predator known as Mosura fentoni has been discovered by paleontologists. Nicknamed the “sea moth,” this ancient creature was about the length of an index finger and had a pencil sharpener-like mouth. Its fossilized remains were found in the Canadian Rockies’ Burgess Shale.
Mosura’s body featured 16 segments lined with gills, unlike other radiodonts which had simpler abdomens. The discovery sheds new light on animal life during the Cambrian period and suggests that evolution was more diverse than previously thought. Mosura is believed to have used its flaps for swimming and shared its habitat with an early apex predator, Anomalocaris canadensis.
The fossil showed an open circulatory system, complete with a heart pumping blood into large body cavities. Lead study author Joe Moysiuk likened the creature’s claws to those of Edward Scissorhands. The discovery is significant as it reveals that radiodonts were more complex than previously assumed and highlights the diversity of life on Earth before the Cambrian explosion.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2025/05/17/g-s1-67434/sea-creature-fossil-three-eyed-predator-mosura