Delve into the Paleozoic Era to uncover the dramatic evolution of life and transformative geological shifts that shaped our planet.

While looking for some Nautiloid representations, I came across a graphical rendering contest from earlier this year, organized by the CG Society. The task was simple - starting from a base model, colorize them and

While looking for some Nautiloid representations, I came across a graphical rendering contest from earlier this year, organized by the CG Society. The task was simple - starting from a base model, colorize them and

Find great deals on 'Anomalocaris from the Cambrian Period of the Paleozoic Era' Posters at AllPosters.com, with fast shipping, easy returns, and custom framing options you'll love!

Balhuticaris voltae Izquierdo-López & Caron, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104675 Highlights: • Balhuticaris voltae; a bivalved arthropod from the Cambrian Burgess Shale • It is the largest bivalved arthropod and one of the largest Cambrian arthropods • It was an agile nektobenthic swimmer with an extremely multisegmented body • This species increases the ecological and functional disparity of bivalved arthropods Summary The origin of mandibulate arthropods can be traced back to the Cambrian period to several carapace-bearing arthropod groups, but their morphological diversity is still not well characterized. Here, we describe Balhuticaris voltae, a bivalved arthropod from the 506-million-year-old Burgess Shale (Marble Canyon, British Columbia, Canada). This species has an extremely elongated and multisegmented body bearing ca. 110 pairs of homonomous biramous limbs, the highest number among Cambrian arthropods, and, at 245 mm, it represents one of the largest Cambrian arthropods known. Its unusual carapace resembles an arch; it covers only the frontalmost section of the body but extends ventrally beyond the legs. Balhuticaris had a complex sensory system and was probably an active swimmer thanks to its powerful paddle-shaped exopods and a long and flexible body. Balhuticaris increases the ecological and functional diversity of bivalved arthropods and suggests that cases of gigantism occurred in more arthropod groups than previously recognized. Reconstruction of Balhuticaris voltae Full body in lateral view (A), close-up of (A) with the morphotype B type of carapace (A.1), close-up of the cephalic area in dorsal view (B), leg (C), and close-up of the telson and caudal rami in dorsal view (D). Artistic reconstruction (E) and alternative artistic reconstruction swimming inverted (F). All reconstructions courtesy of Hugo Salais. Abbreviations: ce, cephalon (head). Scales: A-D) 10 mm. Phylum: Arthropoda von Siebold, 1848 (Hegna et al., 2013). Subphylum: Mandibulata Snodgrass (1938) (Snodgrass, 1938). Genus: Balhuticaris voltae gen. et sp. nov. Etymology: Balhuticaris, from Balhūt (Bahamut), a gigantic sea monster from several Persian cosmographies, and the Latin caris, crab. Species name voltae from the Catalan volta, meaning vault or arch-like structure, referring to the shape of the carapace in frontal view. Diagnosis for genus and species: Bivalved arthropod with a carapace sub-equal to or greater in height than length, covering the frontalmost section of the body and extending anteroventrally beyond the level of the longest cephalothoracic legs; stalked eyes laterally bilobate. Total number of post-cephalic segments ca. 110:10–12 thoracic segments and ca. 100 post-thoracic segments. Each thoracic segment is three times longer than a post-thoracic segment. Caudal rami tripartite, with pseudo-segments bearing elongated setae distally. Alejandro Izquierdo-López and Jean-Bernard Caron. 2022. Extreme Multisegmentation in A Giant Bivalved Arthropod from the Cambrian Burgess Shale. iScience. 25(7); 104675. DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104675

We see fossil reconstructions or illustrations of species that have come and gone and we sometimes say, "Come on now, that can't be real!" Or maybe you don't, but I have, because these creatures look like they came from a horror film or a child's most fri

The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from 541.0 ± 1.0 to 485.4 ± 1.9 million years ago (mya) and is succeeded by the

In this article, we’ll tell you everything you want to know about Paleozoic Era, such as Paleozoic Era facts, timeline, climate, animals, plants and more.

Pictures and detailed profiles of over 30 prehistoric fish, ranging from the earliest vertebrates to modern lobe-finned and ray-finned fish.

An armour-plated fish.Sea Monsters, Dangerous Seas Astraspis was a jawless, armour-plated fish from the Ordovician. It was a primitive type of fish which lacked fins and jaws. It was a cousin of the earlier Haikouichthys and the Silurian Cephalaspis, as well as of modern-day lamprey and hagfish Astraspis was a jawless fish. It lacked fins and its only method of movement was with its tail. Because of that and its heavy shell-like armor, Astrapis was a poor swimmer and a bottom-feeder that

Phanerozoic Eon: Paleozoic Era, Mesozoic Era & Cenozoic Era

Million of years ago, the first cells or protocells were creating complex entities that would pave the way for our dinosaurs and mammoths. the atmosphere had reached its current nitrogen/oxygen balance, cool enough to recreate a paradise. Mankind was not even around 300 million of years ago. For the erudite and anthropologists, this would be called the Paleozoic era, within the late Carboniferous period. Aside from technicalities, life on earth 300 million of years ago was dull and forgotten,

A palaeontologist has revealed how the intimate act of sexual intercourse first evolved in our deep distant ancestors. In one of the biggest discoveries in the evolutionary history of sexual reproduction, scientists have found that internal fertilization and copulation appeared in ancient armored fishes, called placoderms, about 385 million years ago in what is now Scotland.

Phanerozoic Eon: Paleozoic Era, Mesozoic Era & Cenozoic Era

Il Fororaco (Phorurhacos Longissimus) è un Uccello Predatore vissuto nel Pliocene e nel Pleistocene in Sud America. Questo enorme uccello faceva parte di una famiglia denominanta "Uccelli del Terrore" date le dimensioni e la pericolosità dei suoi membri. Questo predatore poteva raggiungere i 2,5-3 m di altezza e pesare fino a 130 kg, le sue ali quesi artrofizzate terminavano con degli uncini che usava per ghermire le sue prede durante la corsa.

Trilobite. Trilobites are extinct animals that lived in the seas millions of years ago. These marine invertebrates had three-lobed shells.

The Paleozoic Era occurred from about 542 million years ago to 251 million years ago. It was a time of great change on Earth.

"Paleoart: Visions of the Prehistoric Past" delves deep into the history of an art form that imagines the lives of primitive beasts.

Hundreds of millions of years ago, in the middle of what would eventually become Canada's Yukon Territory, an ocean swirled with armored ..

Pictures and detailed profiles of over 30 prehistoric fish, ranging from the earliest vertebrates to modern lobe-finned and ray-finned fish.

By Andrey Atuchin • 10 mil thick • Slightly glossy • Fingerprint resistant

The radula sounds like something from a horror movie -- a conveyor belt lined with hundreds of rows of interlocking teeth. In fact, radulas are found in the mouths of most molluscs, from the giant squid to the garden snail. Now, a "prototype" radula found in 500-million-year-old fossils shows that the earliest radula was not a flesh-rasping terror, but a tool for humbly scooping food from the muddy sea floor.

Whether you're walking along the shore or the vast beach of one of the Great Lakes, you may pick up what looks like a fossil and want to know more about what you're holding in your hand.

The Paleozoic Era occurred from about 542 million years ago to 251 million years ago. It was a time of great change on Earth.