The world of science is filled with oddities--such as the recently filmed Architeuthis. In the course of my explorations of paleontology, I have happened on many wonderful, beautiful oddities. Those of the echinoderm world are amongst the oddest. If you want to see some odd animals, google helicoplacoids some time. Or perhaps edrioasteroids.
But over chez Darwin the other day I had cause to remember the great carpoid debate. The center of the debate was taxonomic--were carpoids echinoderms or chordates. (Curiously, echinoderms are the only other major group of deuterostomes--if one holds by evolutionary theory, that would make them our closest relatives in the invertebrate world--how close that would be is still miles off--nevertheless. . . )
Anyway--get a load of these odd little guys. (Ignore the picture that says Tetragraptus, I'll get to the graptolites some other time.)
Anyway, enjoy this momentary excursion into the odd as the first of my morning offerings--a sign of the greatness and the profound love of God for His creation.