Five hundred million years ago, the Earth was a whole lot of sea. Underwater, the Cambrian Explosion was bringing a flurry of differentiation that laid the foundations for modern animal phyla. The new creatures were not just multicellular blobs, but had many of the distinguishing features of animals today: eyes, legs, shells, and mandibles. One of these creatures appears to have been not only a pioneer in body shape, but also in lifestyle. It has been called a submarine and a taco, but its name is Odaraia alata.Odaraia had been first found 100 years ago in the Burgess Shale, a rich fossil deposit in the Canadian Rockies. It contains some of the oldest fossils of soft body parts (500 million years old!), providing many insights into what the Cambrian world looked like.Most Cambrian animals were part of the benthos, the ecosystem of the seafloor, but Odaraia with its 20-centimeter (7.9-inch) long body may already have been swimming up the water column – to hunt. By studying 150 fossils of Odaraia, Alejandro Izquierdo-López and Jean-Bernard Caron could create a detailed reconstruction of what this arthropod would have looked like, and how it probably fed.“The head shield of Odaraia envelops practically half of its body including its legs, almost as if it were encased in a tube,” said lead author Izquierdo-López in a statement. Its taco-like appearance is only one of the remarkable features of Odaraia. Of particular interest to the researchers are its mandibles and the many spines along its body.In this fossil, Odaraia reveals her taco shell.Image credit: photo by Jean-Bernard Caron, Royal Ontario Museum.Mandibles are ubiquitous in the world today, with almost half of all species having them, but they were a rarity in the Cambrian. The mandibles of Odaraia appear lined with teeth, and with divots for the muscles to attach and control them. This evidence secures Odaraia a spot among the pioneers of this body part.Even more useful in prey-capture than the mandibles are the spines. Along the length of the body of Odaraia, the researchers found 30 sets of legs with small spines that could have created a mesh to capture prey with. This suggests that Odaraia could have been a suspension feeder, capturing prey similar to mesozooplankton in the net of its spines and then moving it to its mouth.Oh, and they also found that Odaraia had a tooth shaped like a trident at its mouth opening. They suggest this resembles a gastric tooth, which amazingly is a tooth that lobster and crabs have inside their stomachs.The authors highlight “the role of recovering anatomical information to improve ecological reconstructions”.This study is published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 

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The time has finally come - after spending over a decade in early access, zombie-slaying survival RPG 7 Days to Die fully launches in 1.0 today, July 25. The voxel sandbox game has been on one hell of a ride to get here, but it’s made it in one piece. In fact, it’s in the shape of its life, with player counts on the up even before today’s long-awaited full launch. However, with it now coming out of early access and its 1.0 update dropping a vast amount of new features and improvements, there is a price increase to be aware of. Continue reading 7 Days to Die’s full launch finally arrives after a decade-long wait MORE FROM PCGAMESN: 7 Days to Die System Requirements, 7 Days to Die mods, Best zombie games

Earth Defense Force 6, like the rest of the EDF series, is superbly wacky, kinetic, and imaginative. The co-op, arcade-style shooter is sadly becoming a relic, and I’m glad that Earth Defense Force is still alive - and still obliterating gigantic insectoid aliens en masse - in 2024. But despite its retro visuals and maximalist gunplay, the Earth Defense Force 6 Steam release has been marred by one particular technical wrinkle, similar to the PSN account linking snafu that scuppered the reputation of Helldivers 2. Currently lumbered with a ‘very negative’ rating on Valve’s store, EDF 6 is having a tough launch day. Continue reading Co-op icon Earth Defense Force 6 hits Steam, but people aren’t happy MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best co-op games, Best multiplayer games, Upcoming PC games

The launch of the World of Warcraft The War Within patch has proven a little more troublesome than Blizzard likely expected. The update has just rolled out in the iconic MMORPG ahead of the next expansion’s arrival, but it’s already been marred by several problems. Following the decision to temporarily switch off the new Warband Warbanks, Blizzard now announces that it has disabled cross-realm trading in WoW. Continue reading World of Warcraft disables cross-realm trading amid ongoing issues MORE FROM PCGAMESN: WoW The War Within beta sign up, WoW The War Within release date, The best WoW addons

Govee has unveiled a trio of Evangelion special edition gaming lights, in the shape of the Govee x Evangelion Gaming Lights range. The new Govee Evangelion lights let you adorn your gaming setup with wall-mounted or desk-standing lights, which not only incorporate unique Evangelion design extras, but are also programmed with eight special Evangelion-themed lighting effects. The new Govee Glide Y Lights, Gaming Wall Lights, and Gaming Light Bars are sure to be the best LED strip lights for any Evangelion fans and look great even when their lighting is turned off. Continue reading Show your Evangelion dedication in style with these new gaming lights MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best graphics card, Best gaming PC, Best SSD for gaming

What is the best ZZZ Piper build? With a specialty in Anomaly Buildup and boosting her squad's damage, Piper has the potential to be a strong primary DPS or secondary DPS character with the right loadout. Featuring one of the highest Anomaly Proficiency and Mastery stats among all playable characters, the Sons of Calydon member can quickly build up the Assault Anomaly to deal further Physical DMG. With her Synced Acceleration ability leading to all Zenless Zone Zero squad members' damage being buffed by 18% if any are in the same attribute or faction, you should try adding the best Nekomata build into your ZZZ team as well. In the meantime, let's get into the W-Engine and Drive Discs needed for the ideal Piper build. Continue reading Best Zenless Zone Zero Piper build MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Zenless Zone Zero review, Zenless Zone Zero codes, Zenless Zone Zero banners

Famous for her offbeat ’60s sculpture but long forgotten, the Latin Garbo gets a fresh look.

Netanyahu tried his best to navigate the delicate political moment, but it’s hard to deny the huge gulf between the two parties on Israel.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of what most Americans have known for decades: Our government bureaucracy has grown too big and too powerful.