Patrick Nelson and his brother made the amazing 'arthropod' discovery in the the Amadeus Basin, south of Alice Springs and have donated the rare specimen to a museum

Two brothers have been hailed by scientists for making a super-rare fossil discovery.

The amazing 'arthropod' find was made in the the Australian outback in the Amadeus Basin south of Alice Springs earlier this month.

Amateur fossil hunters Patrick Nelson and his brother were exploring the region the Northern Territory when they hit the jackpot.

Patrick, who has found 12 smaller fossils in the past, stumbled over the 460-million-year-old animal fossil dating back to the Ordovician Period in a red rocky area.

He took pictures of the fossil and sent them to a few friends who also share an interest in palaeontology, local media report.

He told 9News: "I was bouncing off the ceiling, once I sensed the excitement of those experts in the field I was pretty excited too."

He has since decided to donate his rare find to the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.

Dr Adam Yates, the museum's senior curator of earth and sciences, said the find was "significant" as it was the first time an arthropod had been discovered in the outback.

"It's fantastic for us, we don't have many staff so we really do rely on citizen scientists to help build a picture of ancient Australia," Dr Yates said.

"Nothing like it has been found in Central Australia before and we are excited to identify this rare find.

"This new discovery is the first time any sort of arthropod other than a trilobite has ever been discovered from the Ordovician Period of the Northern Territory.

"To find a fully articulated body makes the discovery all the more significant."

He said the museum will conduct further tests and may put the fossil on display for others to see and appreciate.

Arthropods are invertebrates with jointed legs that make up about 75% of animals on Earth.

They include cockroaches, crabs, butterflies, beetles, centipedes, scorpions, shrimp, spiders, lobsters, lice, ticks and termites.

They originated in oceans during the Cambrian period 530million years ago and adapted to changing environments so successfully they still exist in great numbers today.

The museum is now conducting further testing and will consider putting the fossil on permanent display.

kingxsamz:
these are comments I expect to see from ignorant folks who have refused to grasp knowledge.

"How old is the world again"?
"How did they know this"?
"were they there? so how did they arrive at the age"?
"Science and lies".
"What is the benefit of this research"?
"These liars are always trying to discredit the bible".

CAPSLOCKED:



ALL THESE ARE SAID "JUST" BECAUSE THESE DISCOVERIES WEREN'T WRITTEN IN THEIR BIBLES AND KORAN WHICH THEY TAKE AS THE MOST AUTHENTIC BOOK OF TRUTH.

kingxsamz:


Lol, most authentic book of truth which isn't found any where in history.

BIBLE, BOOK OF UNDENIABLE TRUTH TO CHRISTIANS.
TORAH, BOOK OF UNDENIABLE TRUTH TO JEWS.
BOOK OF MORMONISM, ABSOLUTE BOOK OF PURE FACTS AND EVIDENCE TO MORMONS.

THE LIST CONTINUES UP TO 100,000 DIFFERENT BOOKS USED BY DIFFERENT RELIGIONS AND DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS BETWEEN EACH SINGLE RELIGION.

BUT, IT IS THE ATHEIST WHO INSTEAD OF CLINGING TO STORY BOOKS, RESEARCH EVERYDAY, DISCARD STALE IDEAS AND LEARN NEW THINGS THAT THEY ALL TEAM UP TO CALL FOOL BECAUSE THEIR OUTDATED "TORTOISE AND HEN" STORY BOOKS SAY SO.

WHEN CHRISTIANS SAY ATHEISTS ARE DOOMED, THEY DON'T KNOW THAT IN THE EYES OF THOUSANDS OF OTHER DIFFERENT RELIGIONS, THEY ARE WORST THAN ATHEISTS FOR WORSHIPPING A "FALSE GOD". IT'S THE SAME THING FOR EVERY OTHER RELIGION AS WELL. IN THE END EVERYBODY IS DOOMED AND WORSE THAN THE PERSON WHO CHOSE TO BELIEVE IN NOTHING INSTEAD OF WORSHIP THE WRONG GOD.
LOGIC RAISED TO POWER 1,000.

kingxsamz:
Great discovery.
Science keeps making new discoveries.


If this makes front page, these are comments I expect to see from ignorant folks who have refused to grasp knowledge.

"How old is the world again"?
"How did they know this"?
"were they there? so how did they arrive at the age"?
"Science and lies".
"What is the benefit of this research"?
"These liars are always trying to discredit the bible".


You see, these comments come from people who are unintelligent, and have refused to do little research, simply because they don't want to feel the earth dates back to billions of years, which will prove that their beliefs are false.
They're always quick to discredit scientific discoveries like this because it doesn't suit their beliefs.
They'd rather lie to themselves than admit the truth.
If you're ignorant about how scientists come up with the age of an object, just a simple Google search would do.

Just so you know: If you don't believe this research which is based on evidence and facts, but believe that a virgin gave birth to a boy who walked on water and turned it into wine, only to die and resurrect three days later to ascend into the sky, then you're a compound fool .

CAPSLOCKED:


BIBLE, BOOK OF UNDENIABLE TRUTH TO CHRISTIANS.
TORAH, BOOK OF UNDENIABLE TRUTH TO JEWS.
BOOK OF MORMONISM, ABSOLUTE BOOK OF PURE FACTS AND EVIDENCE TO MORMONS.

THE LIST CONTINUES UP TO 100,000 DIFFERENT BOOKS USED BY DIFFERENT RELIGIONS AND DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS BETWEEN EACH SINGLE RELIGION.

BUT, IT IS THE ATHEIST WHO INSTEAD OF CLINGING TO STORY BOOKS, RESEARCH EVERYDAY, DISCARD STALE IDEAS AND LEARN NEW THINGS THAT THEY ALL TEAM UP TO CALL FOOL BECAUSE THEIR OUTDATED "TORTOISE AND HEN" STORY BOOKS SAY SO.

WHEN CHRISTIANS SAY ATHEISTS ARE DOOMED, THEY DON'T KNOW THAT IN THE EYES OF THOUSANDS OF OTHER DIFFERENT RELIGIONS, THEY ARE WORST THAN ATHEISTS FOR WORSHIPPING A "FALSE GOD". IT'S THE SAME THING FOR EVERY OTHER RELIGION AS WELL. IN THE END EVERYBODY IS DOOMED AND WORSE THAN THE PERSON WHO CHOSE TO BELIEVE IN NOTHING INSTEAD OF WORSHIP THE WRONG GOD.
LOGIC RAISED TO POWER 1,000.