Invertebrate
Balhuticaris voltae
Balhuticaris voltaeBalhuticaris voltae undulated through Cambrian seas over 500 million years ago, propelled by roughly 110 pairs of paddle-like limbs along its remarkably segmented trunk. A broad bivalved carapace shielded its head and anterior body, which bore prominent sensory organs adapted for navigating murky bottom waters. Reaching nearly a quarter of a meter in length, this giant hymenocarine demonstrated that complex gigantism emerged far earlier in arthropod evolutionary history than previously suspected.
PrehistoricFossil
—observations
—countries
—peak records
ExtinctConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXExtinctRed List categories, explained →
Diet & preySmall benthic worms, Tiny soft-bodied arthropods, Organic seabed detritus
Predators
- Anomalocaris canadensis
- Titanokorys gainesi
ThreatsPaleozoic environmental shifts and ecological turnover
HabitatsDeep open marine waters and muddy seafloor shelves
Life spanUnknown
Classification
- FamilyBalhuticarididae
- GenusBalhuticaris
- SpeciesBalhuticaris voltae
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Extinct prehistoric organism known exclusively from the fossil record.
Responsible observation
- Museum Study: View preserved Burgess Shale fossils at institutions such as the Royal Ontario Museum.
- Legal Protection: Collecting original fossils within Canadian national parks is strictly illegal.
Ecological Neighbor Jean-Bernard Caron / CC0 · cc0
Predator (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · cc-by-sa
Close Relative Qohelet12 / CC BY-SA 4.0 · cc-by-sa
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