Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
511 / Paleozoic
Orthrozanclus
Orthrozanclus reburrus
Scales, long spines and a small front shell combined several Cambrian body plans.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 508 million years ago
- Final stage
- Middle Cambrian
- Geographic range
- Muddy seafloor · Canada
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Orthrozanclus?
Orthrozanclus (Orthrozanclus reburrus) was an extinct organism known from About 508 million years ago, with a range in Muddy seafloor · Canada.
Life and ecology
A soft foot carried it slowly over the bottom while armor discouraged predators.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Orthrozanclus disappear?
Marine communities reorganized after the Cambrian, but this does not establish why this sclerite-bearing form disappeared.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Orthrozanclus?
Burgess Shale fossils preserve shell, plates and spines; affinities remain 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