Curiosities Researchers discover punk and emo fossils in England
Life on the seabed 430 million years ago was more unusual than previously thought. An international research team with Swiss participation has discovered punk and emo fossils from this period in England.
08.01.2025, 17:00
SDA
The scientists, including Pierre Gueriau from the University of Lausanne, presented the two spiny, worm-like fossils on Wednesday in the scientific journal "Nature". Inspired by their appearance, the researchers named the species "Punk ferox" and "Emo vorticaudum".
Punk got its name because the appearance of the spines reminded the scientists of the mohawk hairstyles of the punk rock movement. Emo owes its name to the often long, face-framing bangs of the representatives of the emo scene. According to the researchers, the appearance of the fossil is also reminiscent of studded clothing.
Evolution not conservative after all
The finds belong to the Aculifera, a subgroup of the so-called molluscs, the animal phylum that includes snails and mussels, for example. Although molluscs are the second most diverse phylum in the animal kingdom, the details of their early evolution are still incompletely understood, as the researchers emphasized in the study.
With their punk-like and emo-like appearance, the fossils exhibit characteristics that differ significantly from those of the previously known Aculifera. According to the researchers, these discoveries contradict previous assumptions that aculifera are "morphologically conservative" - i.e. that they have maintained a relatively unchanged body structure over millions of years.
Punk and Emo therefore prove that there were also rebellious phases in the evolution of aculifera.
