#cambrian explosion

[ravewing]

vice president anomalo caris

[alphynix]

Haikouichthys ercaicunensis was one of the earliest known vertebrates, living in what is now southwestern China during the Cambrian, around 518 million years ago.

About 2.5cm long (~1"), it had a streamlined body with a long fin along its back and tail. It lacked limbs and jaws, but it did have a flexible "upper lip" that could potentially have been used to manipulate food particles, either engulfing them on the seafloor or stirring them up into the water for filter-feeding.

And a recent study revealed a big surprise — it had four eyes! Along with its already-known large sideways-facing pair of eyes, it also had another smaller upwards-facing pair in the middle of its face, giving it a much wider field of vision and the ability to watch out for predators from multiple angles at once.

The extra pair of eyes may be the evolutionary precursors to the pineal complex in later vertebrates — represented in modern forms by the pineal gland and the parietal eye.

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References:

Kasal, Krystal. "Four-eyed Cambrian fish fossils hint at origins of vertebrate pineal complex" Phys.org, 22 Jan. 2026, https://phys.org/news/2026-01-eyed-cambrian-fish-fossils-hint.html

Lei, Xiangtong, et al. "Four camera-type eyes in the earliest vertebrates from the Cambrian Period." Nature (2026): 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09966-0

Mallatt, Jon. "Vertebrate origins are informed by larval lampreys (ammocoetes): a response to Miyashita et al., 2021." Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 197.2 (2023): 287-321. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac086

Wikipedia contributors. “Haikouichthys” Wikipedia, 16 Mar. 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haikouichthys

[sneepsnorp3d]

SHE'S HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!

the most helpful Cambrian creature...an Anomalocaris pencil holder! :D I absolutely love how these turned out, she just hangs out on my desk all day until I need my pen again- what a sweetie!

Anomalocaris pencil holders are available in my store now, as well as STL files if you'd like to 3D print your own at home! :D

https://sneepsnorp3d.com/shop/p/anomalocaris-pencil-holder

[ollieoxyde]

More Anomalocaris have been created!

Two of them are currently available on my newly opened Etsy store!

[scrombly23]

some bad cambrian animal stamps

Animals from left to right: aegirocassis, opabinia, marella, burgessia, nectocaris x2, wiwaxia x2, anomalocaris, omniden, hallucigenia & pikaia

[amybugz]

take me back to the cambrian explosion

(featuring made-up cambrian beasts from this months drink and draw :3)

[incognitopolls]

What's your favorite Phanerozoic Period?

Cambrian

Ordovician

Silurian

Devonian

Carboniferous

Permian

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

Paleogene

Neogene

Quaternary (includes present day)

Voting ended onMay 30, 2025

If you have no opinion on this/don't like ancient history prehistoric periods/etc, choose Quaternary.

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We ask your questions anonymously so you don’t have to! Submissions are open on the 1st and 15th of the month.

[fae-lien]

⋆｡°✩Cambrian Aero⋆｡°✩

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