Extinct Creatures: Opabinia
Added 2017-05-31 18:24:49 +0000 UTCChanging it up a little from our usual vertebrates and doing a creature from long long ago in the Cambrian-- Opabinia!
Opabinia is an ocean-dwelling creature we think might be related to arthropods (like crabs and insects). They are very unusual creatures, as they have five eyes and a proboscis with a little claw on the end that was used for grabbing food off the sea floor. They look like they were made up for a sci-fi movie and they are beautiful.
In the background you can see a sponge with a little conodont poking out! Those are small vertebrates, which means they are relatives of fish. They're known from their pointy little teeth, which are all they leave behind during fossilization.
Also in the background are crinoids (the tubes with feathery stuff poking out), which is actually anachronistic, whoopsie!! I clearly have some learning to do about Cambrian fauna......
