Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
515 / Paleozoic
Odaraia
Odaraia alata
A broad bivalved shell enclosed most of the body and a three-pronged tail steered it.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 508 million years ago
- Final stage
- Middle Cambrian
- Geographic range
- Open shallow-water column · Canada
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Odaraia?
Odaraia (Odaraia alata) was an extinct organism known from About 508 million years ago, with a range in Open shallow-water column · Canada.
Life and ecology
It may have swum inverted or sideways and filtered tiny food with dense limbs.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Odaraia disappear?
Later communities of swimming filter-feeding arthropods appeared, but a younger fauna does not by itself show that they replaced this species.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Odaraia?
Complete impressions preserve eyes, valves, limbs and tail; posture remains functional inference.
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