Anomalocaris
Anomalocaris was a sea hunter that lived more than 500 million years ago, long before there were fish with jaws or dinosaurs. It swam with flaps along its sides and had two big spiky arms at the front to grab its food. It was one of the biggest animals of its time.
When did it live?
How big is it?
How long is it?
How big is Anomalocaris compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
It had big eyes made of many tiny lenses, like the eyes of a fly.
Its body was more than 34 centimetres long, and that is without its arms and tail.
Scientists think it was one of the first top hunters on Earth.
For many years scientists thought its arms were little shrimps, its mouth was a jellyfish and its body was a sea cucumber. Later they found out it was all one animal.
The first fossils were found in 1886 on Mount Stephen in Canada.
Most asked questions about Anomalocaris
?How big was Anomalocaris?
Its body was about 34 to 38 centimetres long, not counting its arms and tail.
?When did Anomalocaris live?
More than 500 million years ago, in a time called the Cambrian.
?What did Anomalocaris eat?
Other sea animals, which it grabbed with its two spiky arms.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Anomalocaris
- Named by
- Whiteaves, 1892
- Group
- Prehistoric giants
- Family
- Anomalocarididae
- Classification
- Dinocaridida > Radiodonta > Anomalocarididae
Where the facts come from
- Anomalocaris (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Chris Woodrich. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Meganeura
Arthropleura
Hallucigenia
Opabinia
Megarachne
Jaekelopterus,_Royal_Tyrrell_Museum,_Drumheller,_Alberta,_2025-07-13.jpg){kind=link}