Extinct Apex Predator Likely Weaker Than Assumed, Research Says

After thorough studies, scientists expressed belief that the marine animal Anomalocaris canadensis was actually weaker than it was first assumed.

A report on Phys.Org said biochemical studies have been conducted on the arachnid-like front "legs" of the extinct animal that was initially believed to be an "apex predator." Research has shown that the marine animal was probably agile and fast as it pursued soft preys in the waters than catching hard-shelled sea creatures.

Initial studies have said that Anomalocaris canadensis, which means "weird shrimp from Canada," has been thought to be responsible for some of the scarred and crushed trilobite exoskeletons which paleontologists have discovered in the fossil record.

Postdoctoral researcher Russell Bicknell said in the report that the Anomalocaris canadensis would have mostly been soft and squishy. Latest study on the one of the largest animals to live during the Cambrian indicated that the creature could have been unable to process hard food.

"Previous conceptions were that these animals would have seen the Burgess Shale fauna as a smorgasbord, going after anything they wanted to, but we're finding that the dynamics of the Cambrian food webs were likely much more complex than we once thought," Bicknell was quoted as saying in the report.

How the study was conducted

A report on SciTech Daily explained how the study on the marine animal was conducted.

International researchers have utilized 3D reconstructions and biomechanical modeling to study the sea creature. They discovered that the Anomalocaris canadensis' front appendages were not built for catching hard prey like trilobites.

The experts build a 3D reconstruction of the marine animal using the well-preserved fossils which were found in Canada's 508-million-year-old Burgess Shale.

In using modern whip scorpions and whip spiders as analogues, the researchers were able to show that the predator's segmented appendages were able to grab prey and could both stretch out and flex.

Further, they used a modeling technique called finite element analysis that helped them in making conclusions about the stress and strain points on the grasping behavior of the animal. This illustrated that the appendages would have been damaged while grabbing hard prey such as the trilobites.

'Fearsome'

A CNN report said paleontologists have branded the animal as fearsome as they thought the creature was behind the early hard-shelled invertebrates that were discovered along the seafloor.

It noted that the 2-foot-long (0.6-meter-long) Anomalocaris canadensis was one of the largest marine animals to live 508 million years ago.

The marine animal prowled the seas during the Cambrian period, which is considered to be a critical juncture in earth's history as there was an explosion in the diversity of life and because many major animal groups alive today emerged.

Meanwhile, a Scinews report described the species as "demersal hunter."