A Walking Cactus

"There was a wild period — roughly 520 million years ago — when life, for no obvious reason, burst into a crazy display of weird new fantastic forms — producing creatures in shapes never seen before or since. Consider this animal, the newest fossil discovery from Jianni Liu in China. She calls it 'the walking cactus.'"

This animal is nothing but a party of legs attached to a stomach that I guess walked around in what was once "The Lost World". I bet exploring Earth A few billion years ago would feel as though you were walking through King Kong's Jungle on your way to Mordor. Now that I think about it, this animal reminds me of Starfish.

We got the chance to dissect one in High School and I did all the work because my partner was a squeamish gangster. I preferred it that way though and eventually he got curious enough to see what was inside. Nothing but a gut. That didn't even look like a Stomach to begin with.

You can read more about this native alien here.