Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
484 / Paleozoic
Canadaspis
Canadaspis perfecta
Two broad valves enclosed a segmented body while antennae, limbs and a tail fan projected outside.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 508 million years ago
- Final stage
- Middle Cambrian
- Geographic range
- Muddy continental-slope seafloor · Canada
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Canadaspis?
Canadaspis (Canadaspis perfecta) was an extinct organism known from About 508 million years ago, with a range in Muddy continental-slope seafloor · Canada.
Life and ecology
It moved close to the bottom and gathered organic particles and small food with branched limbs.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Canadaspis disappear?
Its record is limited to the middle Cambrian; later turnover among marine arthropods is context, but the cause of its disappearance is not established.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Canadaspis?
Burgess Shale fossils preserve valves, eyes, limbs, gills and gut; its exact arthropod position remains debated.
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?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS