Scientists have uncovered new fossil evidence in Greenland, finally solving the mystery of a unique group of prehistoric arthropods.

The Pambdelurion is a unique primordial creature, an arthropod ancestor that features rows of flaps running across each side of its body and 12 legs, including spiny appendages that helps it feed. Scientists have been trying to figure out what this animal's mouth looked like using fossil evidence, and this new fossil provides some clues.

Past findings suggest that it can appear similarly to the Anomalocaris which is a vicious, sea predator from the Cambrian period. Others say that its mouthpiece may appear similarly to a special kind of sea worms known as priapulids.

However, with this latest fossil evidence, scientists have concluded that the Pambdelurion possesses a mouth similar to the priapulids, or more controversially known as penis worms.

According to paleontologist Jakob Vinther from the University of Bristol, its mouth is the spitting image of the Sarlacc from Star Wars.

 

What is a Sarlacc? It's a frightening alien worm creature that possesses a mouth like a crater. Its mouth's insides are lined with thousands of spiny teeth. The creature appeared in the movie, Return of the Jedi.

This real life Sarlacc, however, is estimated to be 520 million years old. The Pambdelurion is apparently a close relative of roundworms, horsehair worms, and mud dragons, apart from penis worms.

According to the co-author of the study Greg Edgecombe from London's Natural History Museum, these arthropod ancestors have the same kind of mouth as penis worms, including their rings of teeth and plates.

Describing what life was like during the Cambrian period, co-author of the study Fletcher Young from the University of Bristol stated that nowhere was safe and no matter where you live--even on a water column or on the seafloor--this big and ugly beast will simply devour you.

This new study has been published in the journal Paleontology.