Ten years ago on Newfoundland’s Bonavista Peninsula, Haootia quadriformis, a 565-million-year-old fossil containing the earliest evidence of an animal with muscles, was discovered.

A decade later, researchers from Memorial University have made new discoveries — proving that Newfoundland’s most famous fossil belongs to the stalked jellyfish, or Class Staurozoa, which are common in the waters around the island in the north Atlantic Ocean today.

A research team led by Drs. Duncan McIlroy and Rod Taylor, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, discovered the new-to-science organism, Mamsetia manunis, a second species of staurozoan, on the “MUN Surface,” as an area of coastal rock near Port Union, Trinity Bay, is known.

Drs. McIlroy and Taylor, and other researchers involved in the project including Dr. Suzanne Dufour, biology professor and associate dean of Science (undergraduate) studies at Memorial, recently published a paper in Life documenting the organisms in detail. 

The discovery of Mamsetia and the reclassification of Haootia represent a leap forward in our understanding of early life.

Introducing Mamsetia manunis: a new Ediacaran species

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. McIlroy re-examined the holotype of Haootia quadriformis, the eight-armed fossil first discovered in 2014.

“Originally when we first published about Haootia, we noted some unusual things about the fossil — it seemed to sit on this big disk, like a goblet,” he said. “I spent a long time looking at my cast of it during COVID and wanted to do more with it, including tracing out muscle groups between the cup and the arms, and somehow the disk didn’t seem to quite fit with the arrangement of the fossil on the surface.”

He then realized the Haootia fossil wasn’t attached to a disk at all, as he identified a subtle overlooked feature that he interprets as a stalk. 

This meant that, instead of being tethered to the seafloor by a disk, Haootia moved around on the ancient seabed. 

Dawn of animal life

In addition to their new Haootia findings, the team identified the new fossil species: Mamsetia manunis.

“When I first found the first one, I spent the first few minutes trying to convince myself that it wasn’t what I thought it was,” said Dr. Taylor. “Then, when I found another one, it just blew my mind. I truly freaked out. It was easily the most excited I’ve ever been in my life in the field.”

The new fossil, with its distinct muscular architecture, differs from Haootia in having only four arms, a character that places it firmly within the crown group of staurozoans.

Drs. McIlroy and Taylor say the discovery represents one of their most scientifically important studies in the field.

“The fact it was found in Newfoundland, the province I grew up in, makes me extremely proud,” said Dr. Taylor. “It’s pride in place. It is a remarkable time to be working on this stuff, and I’m grateful to Duncan for bringing me on 10 years ago.” 

New nomenclature

When Dr. Taylor realized that the team had found an entirely new creature, they knew they needed a name.

Memorial University students working on this and similar projects have adopted a naming convention for newly discovered species that uses the Beothuk language.

Dr. Taylor says the team uses preserved language records to create the name Mamsetia manunis: a combination of the Beothuk words for “alive” and “cup,” or, what a modern jellyfish looks like.

“We do this so we don’t forget that these lands were occupied before us, and what better way to honour those that were here before us than by naming something that was here before them using their language.”

‘Mental impression’

While Haootia quadriformis was recovered in 2015 and resides in The Rooms in St. John’s, fossils of Mamsetia manunis were left in the field but cast in silicone.

This allows the researchers to create replicas of fossilized organisms for study and preservation without damaging the fossils, also referred to as outcrops.

Mamsetia manunis has also been brought to life by paleoartist Bob Nicholls.

Dr. McIlroy says the team commissioned Mr. Nicholls to create the artwork, as the members understand the important role illustrations play in the public’s understanding.

“It is a way to visualize our fossils so people can have a mental impression of what these things were and how they lived,” he said. “Of course, we don’t know what colour these animals were, but we incorporate what we do know about animals today as a partial guide to how we reconstruct the fossilized animal.”

Future research and exploration

With these groundbreaking discoveries, the research team is eager to continue their work in Newfoundland, with plans to investigate the region’s fossil record further and search for additional specimens that could provide more details about the early evolution of animal life on Earth.

 “The discovery of Haootia quadriformis and Mamsetia manunis are just the beginning,” said Dr. McIlroy. “We’re optimistic that our future expeditions in Newfoundland will uncover many more fascinating fossils that will help us piece together the story of our early animal ancestors.”