Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
204 / Paleozoic
Aysheaia
Aysheaia pedunculata
Ten pairs of stubby legs beneath a soft body place it near the early history of velvet worms and arthropods.
View original image · 1536 × 1024- Time range
- About 508 million years ago
- Final stage
- Middle Cambrian
- Geographic range
- Laurentian outer shelf · Burgess Shale, Canada
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Aysheaia?
Aysheaia (Aysheaia pedunculata) was an extinct organism known from About 508 million years ago, with a range in Laurentian outer shelf · Burgess Shale, Canada.
Life and ecology
Aysheaia probably climbed among sponges with clawed lobopod limbs. Spines and appendages around the head may have aided sensing or feeding.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Aysheaia disappear?
Cambrian marine communities kept changing; this exact lobopodian branch vanished while related foundations survived within panarthropods.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Aysheaia?
Soft-body impressions preserve the mouth region, paired lobopods, terminal claws and dorsal projections.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS