This animal belongs to the top predators of evolution. It existed at the beginning of the evolution of life on Earth about 500 million years ago. Many exotic creatures evolved during this period, known as the Cambrian.
Anomalos is an animal that evolved about 5 billion years ago. Life on Earth evolved when it was limited to marine life. The vast ocean is inhabited by all kinds of strange creatures, and the odd shrimp is one of the top predators. It looks like a shrimp but is much bigger.
Anodidae share similar characteristics with arthropods and are classified as stem-like arthropods. This article discusses what the anomaloids looked like, how long they lived, and how they went extinct. We’ll also discuss how this strange creature lived in the ocean millions of years ago.
description and dimensions
Anomalocaris means “not like shrimp/crab”, from Greek “anomoios” and Latin “saris” respectively. The animal resembles a giant shrimp with long appendages on its head. It is an invertebrate plane seen from both the upper and lower surfaces. It has a tail fan with three pairs of fins extending upwards. Anomalocaris has a segmented body that ends in this caudal fin.
They have large, protruding eyes and two elongated appendages on their heads. Each appendage has 14 segments. Their appendages also have prominent spikes. On their body they have more than 11 laterally positioned flaps for swimming. Some characteristics of Anomalocaris include:
- Length – up to 1.25 feet, larger species can grow up to 3 feet
- Weight – about 20 lbs
- Attributes – Shrimp-like shape, flattened body, invertebrate, large protruding eyes.
- belongs to odd shrimp
Odd shrimp belong to the Odidae family. It has been described as a distant relative of arthropods. It uses flexible skin flaps on its body to swim and hunt.Its identified species are
- Canadian Shrimp
- odd shrimp
- Kunming Shrimp
- odd shrimp
- Pennsylvania shrimp
- odd shrimp
The animal was neither a shrimp nor a distant relative of today’s shrimp. In the early 1900’s, anodized shrimp were mistaken for sponges. Fossil discoveries in the 80s revealed consistent body parts. These body parts expose what an odd creature the anodum shrimp is.
The odd shrimp has 32 intersecting plates in its mouth to crush its prey. Some of the bite marks on the trilobites have become obvious manifestations of the odd shrimp’s biting ability. However, the plates were not worn, leaving a hypothetical hole in their bite ability. It has about 30,000 lenses in its eyes, which means it has compound eyes.

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Diet – What Do Odd Shrimp Eat?
Anodidae is a carnivore and, as mentioned earlier, it has been described as the top predator of its time. As the first known top predator to evolve, this animal preyed on other organisms in the water. It also hunts shelled animals such as trilobites. Evidence also suggests that some anomaloid species may be filter feeders.
This animal will force its prey through its mouth to kill it. It preys on other arthropods and can crush tough animals with its mouth. They also feed on worms and other molluscs.
They have short, strong spines that serve as arms for grabbing prey. The spines would have helped grab the trilobites and crush their shells to suck their guts. The flat, streamlined body also made it more flexible when hunting and catching prey.
Habitat – When and Where Anomalosias Live
Anodized shrimp evolved in the early Cambrian. The Cambrian is the first period of the Paleozoic Era. This era can also be said to be the beginning of the evolution of life on Earth. Anodized shrimp lived about 505 million years ago.
The anomaloid is a marine animal because it existed during a period when the evolution of life was limited to wide-open waters. It dwells in waters and controls where it lives. Their presence in China, Canada, the United States of America, and Australia suggests their global reach.
threats and predators
Anomalocaris was a huge creature for its time. That means they may have no match in the waters. They’ve been described as the top predators of their time, and they probably didn’t have any. They are efficient hunters, but due to the size and shape of their mouths, they may not be able to hunt animals their size.
This animal ruled the oceans at the time, with few rivals. However, the life-giving environment is also the organism’s greatest threat. The same is true for the odd shrimp, which did not survive the Permian mass extinction.
Finds and Fossils – Where to Find Anomalos
Anomalocaris was unearthed in 1892, when scientists only found appendages. Part of its mouth was later discovered in 1911. These findings led to it being mistaken for a jellyfish and given the name Peytoia.
The carcass of an odd shrimp was later found, mistaken for a sponge, and named Laggania. By the 1980s, comparisons of fossil finds revealed that they belonged to the same creature, the bizarre animus shrimp.
It is assumed that this animal has a worldwide distribution since it is found on every continent. Fossils of the anomaloid have been found in Greenland, the Burgess Shale in Canada, Australia, Utah and China.

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Extinction – When did the anodic shrimp become extinct?
With the end of the Cambrian period, the anodic shrimp became extinct. The mass extinction occurred at the end of this period, known as the Permian mass extinction. This extinction was one of the earliest and most important.
The Permian mass extinction wiped out approximately 90% of life on Earth. This mass extinction was caused by extreme global warming. Sea life cannot breathe, resulting in mass die off of these sea life. Today’s arthropods such as crabs and lobsters are distant relatives of the evolved anodic shrimp.
similar animals to prawns
Anomaloids existed early in evolution as top predators. It is an invertebrate that looks like a shrimp and is distantly related to today’s arthropods such as lobsters. There are about 6 known species of anomalos, all of which have the appearance of shrimps. Some animals similar to odd shrimp include:
lobster
Lobsters are crustaceans and clawed invertebrates belonging to the chordate group. While not all lobsters have claws, lobsters with claws live in cold water. The two types of lobsters are spiny lobsters and clawed lobsters. Spiny lobsters have no claws. This crustacean likes to eat live prey and can grow to over 3 feet.
Crab
Crabs are decapod crustaceans. They live in brackish, brackish, or freshwater coastal areas. There are more than 4,500 known species of crabs worldwide. This crustacean is omnivorous, which means it eats both plants and meat. They possess an exoskeleton that protects the soft tissues underneath. The largest known crab species is the Japanese spider crab, reaching up to 12 feet.
Trilobite
Trilobites are a group of extinct arthropods that can be divided into three body parts. Trilobite means “three-part body” in Latin. They are marine animals, some can burrow in muddy water bottoms, and some can swim. This group of animals was the first to evolve complex eyes.
flatworm
Flatworms are carnivorous invertebrates of the phylum Flatworms. There are approximately 20,000 known species worldwide. They live in lakes, ponds, streams, fresh water and their hosts. Flatworms can be parasitic, where the parasites live in their host, which can be another animal or a human.
jellyfish
Jellyfish are invertebrate marine animals that are about 90% to 95% water. This animal lives in oceans around the globe. This animal has a respiratory component and no brain, that is to say, no nervous system. They are known for their “bell-shaped heads” and dangling tentacles.
in conclusion
Anomalocaris is not a shrimp, but a shrimp that looks alike. It was mistaken for a shrimp and later mistaken for a jellyfish when it was first discovered. This ancient animal evolved at the beginning of the evolution of the earth. It existed as an apex predator of its time, and has gained a reputation as one of the first apex predators on Earth.

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