Compiling a 'dentist’s handbook' for penis worms
Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - 08:20
in Paleontology & Archaeology
A new study of teeth belonging to a particularly phallic-looking creature has led to the compilation of a prehistoric ‘dentist’s handbook’ which may aid in the identification of previously unrecognised specimens from the Cambrian period, 500 million years ago. The carnivorous Penis Worm, or Ottoia, known from 500-million-year-old fossils, was a fearsome beast: it could turn its mouth inside out to reveal a tooth-lined throat that looked like a cheese grater.