In a discovery that is delighting Millennials around the world, two new fossils discovered in England have been given very relatable names by the archaeologists who found them.

Known as ‘Punk’ and ‘Emo’, thanks to their iconic appearance, these incredible specimens have – beyond inspiring a resurgence of some of the 00s best tracks – given researchers an insight into the diversity of ancient mollusks.

And that’s because, incredibly, these fossils are around 430 million years old, meaning that these little mollusks predated the dinosaurs.

Given that we didn’t previously know that mollusks had been around for that long, this tells us a lot about the adaptability and resilience of these incredible creatures.

After excavating these fossils – Punk ferox and Emo vorticaudum – the researchers recreated them in 3D models. With these models they learned a lot about not only how mollusks evolved – challenging previously-held beliefs that they’d evolved from worm-like creatures – but how they moved and lived.

And as Imperial College London’s Dr Mark Sutton, who led the international project team, explains in a statement, the discovery of these incredibly-preserved fossils changed how the team theorized mollusk evolution entirely:

“Mollusks are one of the largest and most diverse animal groups on Earth. However, early Aculiferan mollusks are much less well-known than some of their relatives. We have limited information about this group, and for a very long time, we assumed they were rather basic, simple and primitive.

We have been able to create ‘virtual fossils’—3D digital models—providing us with a gold mine of information and helping us understand that the branch of molluscan evolution containing Emo and Punk was much more evolutionarily rich and diverse than we thought, as much as other mollusk groups.”

The results of the study, which were recently published in the journal Nature, show both the incredible models of the fossils, and some hypothesis as to the origins and habits of these creatures, which researchers believe lived on the ancient sea floor.

And that wasn’t all that their models helped them to understand.

In fact, it was the striking appearance of these fossils – both after excavation and 3D modelling – that really informed the researchers about how life had been for these tiny creatures all those millions of years ago.

While both fossils had smoother undersides – leading to the researchers believing that they lived at the bottom of the ocean – there were many factors that made these two fossils very different.

Emo is folded up with little spines, leading the team to believe that it would push forward with the grip of those spines. But with Punk – whose body had gills and a ridged foot – has presented the team with a lot of questions, with no one quite sure how it moved around.

Regardless though, the two fossils were so beloved by the team that their fond nicknames ultimately led to their scientific names being crowned accordingly, as Dr Sutton continued:

“The names Punk and Emo were actually our initial pet names for these ancient mollusks, inspired by some of their unique features and individuality. Punk in particular, with its spiky appearance, clearly resembles a rebellious punk rocker—and we thought Emo complemented it well.”

So while these fossils have presented researchers with just as many questions as answers, their discovery has ultimately changed everything we know about the evolution of their species to the present day.

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