Anomalocaris
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Anomalocaris means "weird shrimp". Paleontologist Joseph Whiteaves gave the name to enigmatic, shrimp-like fossils from Cambrian Canada. It was not for decades that the entire body - which had been thought to be from jellyfish and sponges - was recognized as belonging to the same species as the shrimp-like fossils. The shrimp became even weirder than Whiteaves had ever imagined. The "shrimp" turned out to be the animal's great appendages - two bristly arms, flexible enough to grab prey and bring it towards the mouth. The mouth, on the underside of the head, is made of many plates arranged triradially. It looks superficially like a pineapple ring. The top of Anomalocaris's head is protected by an oval carapace. Anomalocaris's compound eyes are set on stalks that give it the best vision of any Cambrian animal. Its body is long, with several pairs of lobes projecting from the sides. The lobse are used to swim by undulating as one, in a manner similar to the fins of cuttlefish. It's a meter long - a titan of the Cambrian, and the apex predator of the Burgess seas. Our three Anomalocaris can be found in the Cambrian section of the Aquarium. |
Scientific name Location Time Length Diet |