BA2292
Reconstruction of the problematic animal, Anomalocaris canadensis, from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia. By far the largest animal in the Burgess Shale fauna this creature of unknown affinity reached lengths of half a meter. Anomalocarids have been discovered in China, Greenland, Australia, and North America.
In the news:
By Matt Kaplan
nature.com
December 7, 2011
Reconstruction of the Anomalocaris sp., the Middle Cambrian Chengjiang fauna of China. Although similar in most respects to Anomalocaris canadensis to the Burgess Shale, the Chinese specimens show two long spines projecting from the tail. It is possible that the spines simply have not yet been recognized in the Burgess Shale specimens. Anomalocaris has experienced a long history of misinterpreted isolated parts. The front claws were originally described as shrimp, the circular mouth plate as a jellyfish, and the body as yet another animal until more complete specimens united the parts. Probably a fearsome predator, Anomalocaris was a half meter in length.
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