Most of us don’t believe in extraterrestrials, but looking at this strange fossil might make you pause and think.
This relic is, in fact, the ancient fossil that inspired the extraterrestrial antagonists in Ridley Scott’s classic science fiction horror, Alien.
The creator of Alien was the Swiss surrealist artist Hans Rudolf Giger, whom Ridley Scott sought out to design the creatures after seeing Giger’s artwork, Necronom IV, one of his many designs said to be based on fossils
Mr. Giger’s designs, one of which was memorably seen bursting from a character’s chest on screen, earned his team an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects in the 1979 film and the franchise that followed
But the strangest fossil that fiction pales in comparison to is actually the remains of a terrestrial life form that existed on our own planet some incredible 300 million years ago.
And the extremely rare fossil captured the public’s imagination so much when exhibited in Switzerland that it not only drew many visitors but also tempted a thief.
The police believe that the thief, who broke into the award-winning exhibition at the Aathal Dinosaur Museum, is a fossil collector.
The iconic scene from Ridley Scott’s movie where one of the extraterrestrials wraps around John Hurt’s face
The relic served as inspiration for Ridley Scott’s successful film, Alien
Last week, the police released the photo in an attempt to locate the exhibition and identify the person who took it.
And now the paleontologist has been returned after being placed in the museum’s mailbox to be sent abroad.
The museum’s curator, Dr. Thomas Bolliger, said, “It was completely intact, although one of the arms had broken off.”
“It’s truly an extraordinary fossil and showcases two distinct species of spineless sea creatures that lived on the ocean floor around 300 million years ago.”
A museum spokesperson added, “It’s a very valuable but also unique fossil, and it will be very difficult for anyone to sell or even keep it, given the publicity surrounding the theft.”
Inspired: HR Giger’s Necronom IV is based on ancient Swiss fossils and is the artwork that earned Mr. Giger’s Academy Award-winning Alien design team their job.
