Exhausted after the end of the mating season Amplectobelua is looking for a fresh meal. Having spent the previous week on an intricate mating ritual, the male amplectobelua returns to hunting. The season took longer than usual leaving the predator exhausted with little life reserves, but instincts push him forward. Unfortunately for him, his intricate courting carapace is yet to mold, only detrimenting his situation. The coloration will change with time, time which he no longer has.
Hunger pushes him to the unusual places. He flows to a sponge reef. It is abundant in life, but the narrow spaces are a problem for the big predator. After a few futile attempts, amplectobelua stops to regain strength while waiting for some critter to make a wrong move.
Suddenly a slight movement of water of water indicates an upcoming danger. Amplectobelua doesn't see any concurrents approaching, but the threatening feeling doesn't go away. The gravel underneath slowly shakes, rising dim clouds of sand. The earth itself is moving. With this growing rumbling, it doesn't take long for the reef to start falling apart. Sponges that took years to grow fall in minutes. As it happens, the creatures inhabiting this place scatter to avoid being buried alive. A panicking nectocaris rushes upward. A perfect opportunity for the predator. The amplectobelua is used to hunting hard shelled prey, but he won't mind an easy meal.
One nectocaris isn't enough for amplectobelua to regain its strength. The scattering habitans of the reef are plentiful and he won't stop at the first one. In the hunt amplectobelua completely ignores the sense of danger.
With every new attack the predator slows down. This time it is not the fatigue. The Cambrian sea ecosystems are fragile. In these warm waters oxygen levels are very uneven. Ususally, this is not a problem. But now, the erupting volcano moves the earth, easily breaking the equilibrium. With both gases from the eruption covering the ocean and the low-oxygen waters moving from the depth the reef slowly chokes. Not registering what is going on the creatures that didn't get far enough from the debris stop moving. Among them is amplectobelua. As it slowly fails down the ash from the eruption covers the corpse, preserving it for millions of years to come.
