Look: Ancient predator found 500 million years later with brain still intact

500 million years ago, the most fearsome creatures in the ocean were radiodonts — predatory, shrimp-like organisms that reached just a few feet in length.

Writing this week in the journal Current Biology, researchers announced the discovery of 268 previously unreported S. hirpex specimens from the Burgess Shale fossil site in Canada.

Radiodonts are often found in fragments, making the discovery of so many whole-body fossils a jackpot for researchers.

The once-plentiful predators also shed light on how their modern-day successors — insects and spiders — developed brains and eyes.

Even 500 million years ago, the visual capabilities of these animals were already highly developed like their modern kin, explained study co-author Jean-Bernard Caron in a press release.

That revelation can help researchers piece together the evolution of certain traits — and better appreciate what was passed down from ancient ancestors.