Invertebrate
Ottoia prolifica
Ottoia prolificaOttoia prolifica was a dominant predatory worm that hunted within the muddy sediment of the Cambrian seafloor roughly 508 million years ago. Equipped with an armed, eversible proboscis lined with tiny spines, it captured hard-shelled prey and even engaged in cannibalism, as revealed by fossilized gut contents. Its cylindrical body moved through U-shaped burrows, making it one of the most abundant soft-bodied macrofossils preserved in the famous Burgess Shale.
CambrianCarnivorousBurrower
—observations
—countries
—peak records
ExtinctConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXExtinctRed List categories, explained →
Diet & preyHaplophrentis carinatus, Ottoia prolifica
Predators
- Anomalocaris canadensis
ThreatsChanging ocean chemistry and Cambrian extinction events
HabitatsCambrian marine shelf mud
Life spanUnknown (extinct)
Classification
- FamilyOttoiidae
- SpeciesOttoia prolifica
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Extinct Cambrian fossil species posing no risk to humans.
Responsible observation
- Museum Viewing: Look for the inverted, spiny proboscis preserved in Burgess Shale fossil slabs.
- Scientific Literature: Compare gut contents in paleontological papers to see evidence of Cambrian predation.
Prey Qohelet12 / CC BY-SA 4.0 · cc-by-sa
Predator (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · cc-by-sa
Neighbor Obsidian Soul / CC BY 3.0 · cc-by
Modern Relative (c) Bernard Picton, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Bernard Picton · cc-by
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