An artist's reconstruction of Hurdia based on numerous fossils. The large head carapace helped researchers distinguish it from a related Cambrian super-predator, Anomalocaris (Image: Science/AAAS)
For an animal nicknamed the "T. rex of the Cambrian" – the apex predator of its food chain – the ancient arthropod Hurdia victoria has had a tough time getting properly recognized.
The species was initially described as a crustacean by American palaeontologist Charles Walcott in 1912. But its bizarre appearance and the discovery of numerous partial fossils led to it being misclassified variously as a species of jellyfish, sea cucumber and its close relative Anomalocaris.
Now a new analysis of numerous Hurdia fossils – including the animal's whale-like carapace – suggests that all these specimens belong to a single species.
Read the rest at New Scientist.
You can also find another article on this at LiveScience: Ancient Creature Was a Miniature Monster.
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