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Creature of the Week #1: Anomalocaris

  • 24-11-2009 3:07pm
    #1
    Galvasean
    Registered Users Posts: 30,747 ✭✭✭✭ Galvasean


    The Palaeontology Forum presents the first of what we hope to be a weekly spotlight, the creature of the week. The aim is to present a new creature every week that people may not have heard about and hopefully get a bit of a dialogue going.
    So, without further adieu, let us begin...

    Our first creature is Anomalocaris, one of the world's first apex predators who lived in the Cambrian seas some 500 million years ago.
    The name Anomalocaris means 'different shrimp' because when it was first found it's feeder 'arms' were mistaken for the remains of a shrimp like animal.
    While less than a meter in lenght, Anomalocaris was far and away the top predator of the time. It fed on trilobites and soft bodied creatures (including Hallucigenia, basically anything that it could catch.
    anomalocaris.jpg

    Where have I seen you before?

    Anomalocaris appeared in the first episode of the BBC series Walking With Monsters. It appears below at 3:45.
    Tagged:


Comments

  • #2
    Jako8
    Registered Users Posts: 2,445 ✭ Jako8


    Firstly, the fantastic idea. Hopefully creature of the week will be interesting every week.

    It's funny how it has been misidentified many times. They're still not sure if it should even be classed as an anthropod.


  • #3
    Galvasean
    Registered Users Posts: 30,747 ✭✭✭✭ Galvasean


    Jako8 wrote: »
    Firstly, the fantastic idea. Hopefully creature of the week will be interesting every week.

    The plan is to go through the alphabet (ie: next week is a creature beginning with B, the week after is C etc.) and then start again at A when we get through the first lot.
    There will be a sticky thread in the forum so people can browse previous creatures of the week with ease.
    And of course, user nominations will be considered (not that there is anything stopping anyone from starting a thread of their own if they want a particular favourite creature of theirs in the spotlight).
    If people are interested we could make a creature of the month competition where users can vote for their favourite of the creatues. The creatures of the month could then go on to face each other in a creature of the year poll.
    Granted it's late November, so there wont be much choice for 2009, but I still think it might be fun.

    PS: go Anomalocaris!


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