Scientists at the Royal Ontario Museum have conducted a new study of fossils that include the brain and nervous system of the Stanleycaris hirpex creature that lived on Earth 500 million years ago.. They came to the conclusion that these creatures can change the existing ideas about the evolution of insects and arthropods, reports Scitech daily..

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Stanleycaris hirpex belong to an ancient extinct branch of the arthropod tree called Radiodonta. It is a distant relative of modern insects and spiders..

According to scientists, even after 504 million years, the remains of the brain remained in the remains of 84 fossilized creatures..

“Although fossilized brains from the Cambrian period are not new, this discovery stands out for its amazing quality of preservation and large number of specimens.. We can even make out fine details such as imaging centers serving large eyes and traces of nerves entering the appendages.. The details are so clear, it's like we're looking at an animal that died yesterday,"

The analysis showed that the brain of the creature consisted of two segments: the protocerebrum associated with the eyes, and the secondary brain associated with the frontal claws.. Researchers believe that this creature's brain is an evolutionary precursor to the three-segment brain of modern arthropods..

Their brain consists of protocerebrum, deutocerebrum and tritocerebrum.. At first glance, the difference in segments may seem insignificant, but in fact it has a radical scientific significance.. Multiple repeating copies of organs can be found in the segmented bodies of arthropods, so figuring out how segments formed in different species is key to understanding how these structures diversified within a group..

In addition to a pair of stalked eyes, Stanleycaris had a large central eye at the front of its head.. Nothing like this has ever been seen in Radiodonta before.. According to scientists, this means that ancient arthropods already developed complex visual systems, like their more modern relatives..

The researchers also note that most members of this group are known only from scattered fragments, so the new discovery is crucial in understanding how they looked and lived..

The body length of Stanleycaris was 20 centimeters, he was small enough for his group.

But in those days, the length of the body of most creatures did not exceed a human finger, so the size of Stanleycaris made it a formidable predator.. A complex nervous and sensory system allowed him to effectively track prey in the dark..

The creature had compound eyes, an intimidating round mouth studded with teeth, front claws with an impressive set of spikes, and a flexible, segmented body.. He was a real horror for other small creatures that lived in the oceans of that time..