How is it possible? Giant creatures found in New Zealand that would scare their modern relative

The creatures that roamed the Earth millions of years ago would indeed be quite startling if we were to encounter them today.

One such creature, recently discovered by researchers at Flinders University (Adelaide), the University of New South Wales (Sydney), Canterbury Museum and the University of Canterbury, is a giant freshwater crayfish. This prehistoric crustacean, found in New Zealand, measured up to 25 centimeters, or around 10 inches. For context, most crawfish today are around 8 centimeters or 3 inches.

While the size alone makes the identification in the fossil record historic, the innovative methods used may be replicated to identify an even greater number of crayfish and other crustaceans that do not often fossilize completely.

Dr.Paul Scofield, one of the authors of a study published in Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, and the Senior Curator at the Canterbury Museum, emphasized the critical role crayfish played in “ancient environments.”

The findings, explained Dr. Scofield, provide the evidence needed to “say categorically where freshwater crayfish lived in prehistoric times,” which will allow scientists to gain a better understanding of “prehistoric ecosystems and how they worked.”

A new method to identify crustaceans in the fossil record

This discovery is considered vital for understanding the crustaceans that inhabited the Miocene aquatic ecosystem, as scientists had previously struggled to find evidence of their existence in the fossil record. Testing a new theory, the research team diligently sifted through small fossil fragments, examining them under a microscope. Ultimately, they identified three distinct types of mandibles, providing evidence that three species coexisted simultaneously.

 “The increased robustness and hardness of this part of the mandible have facilitated their survival as fossils,” explained the authors in the study.

Evidence of sympatric diversity and what that means

This latest discovery begins to connect the ancestral species that occupied the Earth millions of years ago to the crustaceans we share our planet with today. Researchers explain that their findings provide evidence of sympatric diversity, a scientific term that refers to the coexistence of multiple species, connected through evolution, at the same time. These ancestors are linked to the crustaceans of today, highlighting the resilience of these animals in evolving and adapting as their climate and ecosystem changed.

The researchers will continue to use this new methodology and hope that others will follow to expand the knowledge available on the prevalence of these creatures in ecosystems throughout the ancient world.

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