When animals come across a awful marauder , their first instinct is to fly the coop and conceal . There are , however , some clear-cut setbacks to this tried - and - tested method : The prey has to be fast than its marauder , for model . For those that are n’t , a smarter defense strategy may evolve . The armadillo has its bony armor and the hedgehog can ram its calamus into predators . Now , investigator may have unwrap the first cushy - bodied animals on Earth to have employ a likewise creative protective mechanism . The brute , namedCollinsium ciliosum , or Hairy Collins ' giant , armour itself by covering its body in spikes .
This animal , discovered from a half - a - billion - class - old dodo , is thought to be an former ascendant of forward-looking velvet worms . While the lifestyle of New velvet louse is n’t particularly exciting , Dr Javier Ortega - Hernández , one of the theme ’s lead authors , says in astatementthat their remote congenator were " spectacularly diverse and came in a surprising mixture of freakish conformation and sizes . "
This " eccentric " ancestor to the rather straight - laced modern velvet worm was found in modern China . The " super - armoured " Chinese Collins ' Monster did n’t only use its spikes to protect itself from piranha ; they also functioned as a specialised mode of alimentation . The fossil was unco well continue as investigator were able-bodied to name details of the full body organization , which included the digestive pathway and hair - like structures on the front end .
The beast had a " squishy " body with six pairs of front legs , and nine pairs of clawed rear wooden leg . Its body was also covered with 72 sharp and pointy spike of various sizes . Researchers intimate that the Chinese Collins ' Monster ’s impressive defense mechanisms evolve as a outcome of its sedentary lifestyle .
The newspaper , published in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , intimate that this is the first recorded instance of the evolutionary pattern where diverse ancestors evolved into unvaried modernistic relatives in mostly soft - bodied grouping .
