Wanted: Soft and Squishy

Listen to Today's Edition:

The Anomalocaris canadensis was considered an apex predator of Earth’s oceans some 500 million years ago, even though it measured less than two feet in length.

While it might not seem as impressive as a great white, the creature was among the largest ones during the Cambrian Period and is thought to have struck its prey using its two spiny appendages on its face.

Previous findings suggested that the extinct creature preyed on hard-shelled trilobites, but a new paper showed evidence that the shrimp-like A. canadensis preferred softer food, Science News reported.

Fossils of injured trilobites suggested that a creature had attacked them. Scientists would point to the A. canadensis, but paleobiologist and study author Russell Bicknell was skeptical.

He explained that the trilobites’ exoskeletons were hard and thick, adding that no one had yet presented evidence that A. canadensis could break them.

To solve this mystery, he and his team used computer simulations to test the primitive appendages’ toughness, range of motion and optimal swimming position. They also compared these flexible appendages with those of modern arthropods.

The findings showed that the prehistoric predator was an efficient and agile hunter, but its appendages were best suited for softer animals swimming in the water.

“That’s going to absolutely pincushion something soft and squishy,” Bicknell quipped.

According to Joanna Wolfe, an evolutionary biologist from Harvard University who was not part of the study, the results also suggest that even the earliest predators were likely skilled hunters. She said these ancient ecosystems were surprisingly complex, despite their antiquity.