The Anomalocaris

Anomalocaris was a large, shrimp-like predator that existed during the Cambrian period. It was one of the first arthropods with a set of compound eyes. Anomalocaris was around three feet long, and moved by undulating the flexible lobes on the sides of its body, much like a modern day sea cucumber. It’s mouth resembled that of a squid; rows of overlapping teeth in a circular shaped mouth. Over its mouth were two arm-like appendages, which it used to pull prey into its mouth. They occasionally used these arms for combat by grabbing onto the torso of a rival and arching its back, as to break the foe’s plated armor.


Anomalocaris had two compound eyes, which were made up of lots of little eyes. Each eye consisted of at least 16,000 individual hexagonal lenses. The eyes of Anomalocaris were able to tell friend or foe and detect features of the surrounding environment. Scientists have discovered that the eyes were most often on either side of the mouth, but sometimes either nearer the front of the head or further back on the head. The eyes were 2-3 centimeters long and were shaped like a pear, which may not seem very big, but scientists say that Anomalocaris’ eyes were larger than any other animal’s eyes who lived in the same area as Anomalocaris. Not only that, but Anomalocaris, in proportion to its size, had some of the sharpest and largest eyes in history. John Paterson from the University of New England, Armidale, adds, “It would have had close to 360 degree vision.”


The Anomalocaris was the one of the animal fossils found in the Burgess Shale region. The Burgess shale is an area in the Canadian Rockies full of pre cambrian remains, and the Anomalocaris was the largest. Fossils of the first known ocean predator aren’t only found in south east Canada, Archaeologists have dug them up across the globe.This makes it quite unique for pre Cambrian animals considering animals that lived before earth’s biggest extinction are rarely spread out over long distances. The animal looked very similar to a shrimp and tended to fall into chunks after death so for a long time it was very rare to see a full fossil. That is why until scientist began to discover whole petrified Anomalocaris remains it was often confused for a different species.




References


Anomalocaris. (2014, August 10). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:46, September 18, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anomalocaris&oldid=620653876





Gon, S., III. (n.d.). The Anomalocarid Bauplan. Retrieved September 18, 2014, from Anomalocaris Homepage website: http://www.trilobites.info/background3.html





History.com Staff. (2011, December 7). First Super Predator Was a Hawk-Eyed Shrimp, Study Shows. Retrieved September 18, 2014, from HISTORY website: http://www.history.com/news/first-super-predator-was-a-hawk-eyed-shrimp-study-shows


Yong, E. (2011, December 7). The sharp eyes of Anomalocaris, a top predator that lived half a billion years ago. Retrieved September 18, 2014, from Discover Magazine website: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/12/07/anomalocaris-sharp-eyes-predator/#.VBtNYEtDuMK

Anomalocaris canadensis (proto-arthropod). (n.d.). Retrieved from Smithsonian
     National Museum of Natrual History website: http://www.paleobiology.si.edu/
     burgess/anomalocaris.html