Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Waptia.

Waptia is a shrimp-like genus of arthropod from the Cambrian Period. It has been classified as a crustacean, but they haven't been able to link it to other crustaceans of its time.


Waptia could swim using its book gills and steer with its tail, but since it had weak jaws, it probably spent most of its time crawling around on the bottom of the ocean eating detritus.
This image shows two Waptia swimming with one Canadaspis. Waptia looked sort of like Canadaspis and they were both crustaceans. 

10 comments:

  1. It really does look like a crustacean. Very lobster-ish, don't you think?

    Mrs. J.

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  2. That looks a lot like a triops: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triops

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  3. It looks a lot like a Triops, except it doesn't have three eyes. Some species of Triops can get as big as your hand!

    And it also kinda looks like a lobster, Mrs. J!

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  4. Would you eat it dipped in butter?

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  5. Yah, I'd basically just eat any kind of seafood. I would definitely want to eat a nautiloid or an ammonite.

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  6. Could I see a scale here? Are we dealing with a lobster or a shrimp here?

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  7. That crustacean looks like a dragonfly! - Nico

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  8. @William

    Waptia was about 3 inches long, so more like a shrimp.

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