A terrifying-sounding new species of lobster-like marine creature has been discovered by scientists. The species, Yawunik kooetenayi, had swum in Earth's waters about 508 million years ago.

"Yawunik had evolved long frontal appendages that resemble the antennae of modern beetles or shrimps, though these appendages were composed of three long claws, two of which bore opposing rows of teeth that helped the animal catch its prey”, said boffins at the University of Toronto and the Royal Ontario Museum.

The fossil that was found at the Marble Canyon site has been identified by an international crack team of paleontologists from Canada and the US Cedric Aria, the lead author of the study published in Paleontology said that this creature is increasing their point of view on the anatomy and predatory habits of the first arthropods. According to researchers, arthropods are the group to which spiders and lobsters belong.

The researchers said that the Yawunik predator was named after a figure in the Ktunaxa people's mythology. It is believed by the researchers that the Yawunik predator was the most abundant of the large new species spotted at the Marble Canyon site.

According to the researchers, it is also believed that the arthropods spread out their scary frontal appendages at the time of an attack and after that retracted them under its body when swimming.

Yawunik and its relatives helped the researchers to know more about the condition existing before such a division of tasks among parts of the organism occurred. As per the researchers, Yawunik did not have appendages in the head that were particularly modified to process food.