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Cambrian critter cookies
Anomalocaris, apex predator of the Cambrian sea, glides serenely through its ancient realm. Around it thrives a menagerie of bizarre creatures: hedgehog like Wiwaxia, numerous sponges, spiky Chancelloriids, cup-shaped Dinomischus, and tiny Scenella across the seafloor.
Anomalocaris canadensis, an extinct arthropod of the order Radiodonta, was one of the first apex predators. According to 2023 research, it probably hunted free-swimming prey using a pair of frontal appendages, rather than seafloor dwellers like trilobites, as previously thought.
Wiwaxia corrugata, an extinct animal of uncertain origins, was once thought to be an annelid (a group containing earthworms). The most widely accepted view today is that it was a mollusk or a close relative. It crawled along the seafloor like a slug, scraping bacteria as it fed.
Dinomischus isolatus, another extinct animal of uncertain origins. It was probably a close relative of ctenophores (a phylum that includes comb jellies). It fed by filtering seawater, between petal-like plates were located its mouth and anus, forming a simple U-shaped gut.
cambrian phalanx
The Paleo Party Guest of the day is Wiwaxia!
The exact affinity of Wiwaxia has been under debate since they were discovered in 1899. They are currently most often labeled as a mollusk, but they have also been labeled as an annelid worm.
Age: 520-505mya
Location: Burgess Shale, Canada
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Wiwaxia (2026), soap ground etching with aquatint
The letter "W" from the series Nothing Left But Their Names. This print is available on my store.
cambrian period dashboard simulator
redlichiida-realdeactivated0455414
petition to ban anomalocarises from the local sandbar. theyre so fucking big and it's freaking everyone out and me personally ion want a trilobite muncher looming over me when im trying to have a drink.
🪲 trillybite17 Follow
they dont call them the ABNORMAL shrimp for nothing, they're fucking weird
🎸 punkrock-halluci Follow
No, you know what petition needs to be started? One to get rid of ignorant bigots like you. Have you ever SEEN an Anomalocaris ever eat– let alone ATTACK– a trilobite? No, you haven't. Because they DON'T EAT TRILOBITES. Do some fucking research before you say shit like this.
⚜️ splendidmarrella Follow
fyi if you get rid of anomalocarises from public spaces then you will quite literally starve. you know those dead soft-bodied organisms yall scavenge and eat? yeah anomalocaris is the one providing those for you. as a scavenger myself i have been personally impacted by loss of food due to unfair treatment of anomalocarises that have forced them to leave the shallows that i live in and let me tell you eating detritus and nothing else is literally awful. please think twice before you post something prejudiced like this.
🩶 pleurae71 Follow
common hallucigenia + marrella W
ignore the OP, i promise most of us trilobites aren't like them- i don't even know why this is a debate. i guarantee they've never stepped outside of their little rock cave in their life
🌀 xcorynexospikesx Follow
LMFAOO they deactivated☠️
32,354 notes
No. 35 Wiwaxia
Wiwaxia were a group of several species of bottom-dwelling animals living in the Cambrian.
The identity of wiwaxia has long been under debate whether they were early annelids, molluscs or an entirely extinct group of animals.
Examination of their radula-like mouthparts may have the evidence leaning towards molluscs.
Wiwaxia were thought to have fed by scraping the microbial mat that covered much of the Cambrian seafloor.