Tullimonstrum gregarium, informally known as Tully Monster, is an extinct species of soft-bodied bilaterian that lived in shallow tropical coastal waters of muddy estuaries during the Pennsylvanian geological period, about 300 million years ago. A single fossil species of tullimonstrum is known. Its classification is controversial and many have previously compared it with primitive forms of molluscs, arthropods, worms and vertebrates.
This model is based on the last available publication that identifies it as a basal vertebrate (phylum Chordata).It was carved by hand and reproduced in resin in a scale 1:1.
Resin model of Tullimonstrum gregarium organism Mazon Creek fossil beds
Material: full resin in 4 pieces
Scale: 1:1
Design: Di Silvestro Gianpaolo and KUO, CHIEN-HUNG
Scientific references: McCoy, Victoria E .; Saupe, Erin E .; Lamsdell, James C .; et al. (April 28, 2016). "The 'Tully monster' is a vertebrate". Nature. 532 (7600): 496–499. doi: 10.1038/nature16992. PMID 26982721.McCoy, VE, Saupe, EE, Lamsdell, JC, Tarhan, LG, McMahon, S., Lidgard, S.,… Briggs, DEG (2016). The “Tully monster” is a vertebrate. Nature, 532, 496-499. https://doi.org/10.1038/natur e16992
McCoy VE, Wiemann J, Lamsdell JC, et al. Chemical signatures of soft tissues distinguish between vertebrates and invertebrates from the Carboniferous Mazon Creek Lagerstätte of Illinois. Geobiology. 2020; 00: 1–6.https: //doi.org/10.1111/gbi.12397