Opabinia regalis - Strangest known animal?

[velvetundergrowth]

I thought I'd share this little plastic toy I picked up off eBay a while ago as it's a to-scale physical representation of perhaps one of the strangest and definitely one of my favorite organisms in Earth's history!
For those unfamiliar with Opabinia regalis it was a stem arthropd from the Cambrian period, with fossils dating to around 500 million years ago.
Thought to have been a predator of small marine animals, Opabinia used it's bizzare clawed appendage to pass food to it's backward-facing mouth located beneath the head. It had five - yes, five - eyes and seems to have swam across the seafloor by moving it's gilled lobes in a metachronal pattern.
While it's lineage and place in the tree of animal life still remains somewhat blurred, it is usually placed under the proposed phylum "Lobopodia". Also placed in this group are the somewhat-similar Anomalocaridida (which belong to the same class, Dinocaridida) as well as the Onychophora (Velvet Worms) and Tardigrada (Water Bears), which seem to be Opabinia's closest living relatives.
Sadly there is much about Opabinia that we will never know, but we can still wonder and marvel over this truly unique example of the diversity of life on Earth!

(As my custom title indicates, I'm a big fan of Lobopodia!)

 

[The Seraph]

I thought I'd share this little plastic toy I picked up off eBay a while ago as it's a to-scale physical representation of perhaps one of the strangest and definitely one of my favorite organisms in Earth's history!
For those unfamiliar with Opabinia regalis it was a stem arthropd from the Cambrian period, with fossils dating to around 500 million years ago.
Thought to have been a predator of small marine animals, Opabinia used it's bizzare clawed appendage to pass food to it's backward-facing mouth located beneath the head. It had five eyes and seems to have swam across the seafloor by moving it's gilled lobes in a metachronal pattern.
While it's lineage and place in the tree of animal life still remains somewhat blurred, it is usually placed under the proposed phylum "Lobopodia". Also placed in this group are the somewhat-similar Anomalocaridida (which belong to the same class, Dinocaridida) as well as the Onychophora (Velvet Worms) and Tardigrada, which seem to be Opabinia's closest living relatives.
Sadly there is much about Opabinia that we will never know, but we can still wonder and marvel over this truly unique example of the diversity of life on Earth!

(As my custom title indicates, I'm a big fan of Lobopodia!)

Interesting. And to think I thought Anomalocaris was odd looking.

 

[Ratmosphere]

Definitley alien like!

 

[schmiggle]

I probably wouldn't even put Obapinia in my top ten weirdest looking animals, but it's definitely funky looking. I admire that toy quite a lot.

For those interested in Burgess shale stuff--including several lobopodia--I like this website:
https://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/en/fossil-gallery/view-species.php?id=93&m=2&&ref=i

 

[velvetundergrowth]

I probably wouldn't even put Obapinia in my top ten weirdest looking animals, but it's definitely funky looking. I admire that toy quite a lot.

For those interested in Burgess shale stuff--including several lobopodia--I like this website:
https://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/en/fossil-gallery/view-species.php?id=93&m=2&&ref=i

I'm sure I could also think of some weirder ones, but Opabinia just really stands out to me
Out of curiosity, which creatures would you rate as more bizzare looking?

That is indeed a great site. I've always had a deep fascination with Ediacaran and Cambrian lifeforms, I collect trilobite fossils and also little "replicas" like these

 

[schmiggle]

Out of curiosity, which creatures would you rate as more bizzare looking?

Sacculina carcini (and any other Rhizocephala)
Poecilancistrum (and any other Trypanhorhyncha)
Enypniastes
Psychropotes
The facetotectan ypsigon
Coeloplana
Magapinna
Melibe
Beroe
Cestum
I have a thing for ctenophores lol

 

[velvetundergrowth]

Sacculina carcini (and any other Rhizocephala)
Poecilancistrum (and any other Trypanhorhyncha)
Enypniastes
Psychropotes
The facetotectan ypsigon
Coeloplana
Magapinna
Melibe
Beroe
Cestum
I have a thing for ctenophores lol

Those certainly are weird! A few of those I'd never even heard of!
The Melibe, Magnapinna and Coeloplana,
are ones that really stood out.
The Cestum reminds me of the equally bizzare plant Welwitschia mirabilis!
There are definitely a couple of Sea Slugs I'd place on my list too, as well as some Opiliones and Mites.

And yes, the Ctenophores are really fascinating, I will definitely be reading up on them more!

 

[The Seraph]

Sacculina carcini (and any other Rhizocephala)
Poecilancistrum (and any other Trypanhorhyncha)
Enypniastes
Psychropotes
The facetotectan ypsigon
Coeloplana
Magapinna
Melibe
Beroe
Cestum
I have a thing for ctenophores lol

Interesting! I have only heard of Sacculina and Magapinna. The rest are all utterly alien. What would you consider the strangest vertebrae? I am only curious as they really cannot compete with the sea tape or the sea condom or the octopus mobile or the ... there is nothing else that looks like this thing.

 

[schmiggle]

Interesting! I have only heard of Sacculina and Magapinna. The rest are all utterly alien. What would you consider the strangest vertebrae? I am only curious as they really cannot compete with the sea tape or the sea condom or the octopus mobile or the ... there is nothing else that looks like this thing.

Ehhh...vertebrates are mostly boring, but some candidates:
Olm
Various snailfish species
Goblin shark
Frilled Shark
Most anglerfish
Gulper eel
Dragonfish

Those certainly are weird! A few of those I'd never even heard of!
The Melibe, Magnapinna and Coeloplana,
are ones that really stood out.
The Cestum reminds me of the equally bizzare plant Welwitschia mirabilis!
There are definitely a couple of Sea Slugs I'd place on my list too, as well as some Opiliones and Mites.

And yes, the Ctenophores are really fascinating, I will definitely be reading up on them more!

Yeah, parasites don't get no love

A video of Beroe eating, since I think that's when the weirdness really comes through:

These guys quite literally zip their mouths shut while digesting, such that they are often more easily torn from other parts of the body than from the mouth.

 

[The Seraph]

Ehhh...vertebrates are mostly boring, but some candidates:
Olm
Various snailfish species
Goblin shark
Frilled Shark
Most anglerfish
Gulper eel
Dragonfish

Yeah, parasites don't get no love

A video of Beroe eating, since I think that's when the weirdness really comes through:

These guys quite literally zip their mouths shut while digesting, such that they are often more easily torn from other parts of the body than from the mouth.

I was expecting the Rhinopithecus genus to be in the list. Either way, those are certainly odd. I find olm to be beautiful in thought. How tranquil must that existence be? Swimming through an eternal darkness, the days warping beyond measure. Only the cold water pressing on you and the occasional shrimp meeting its end before you. Nothing to worry about, nothing to fear. Only the endless night before you. It seems like heaven can hardly compare.

 

[velvetundergrowth]

I'd also nominate Handfish, Harlequin Ghost fish, Seahorses, Mata Mata, Tarsiers and Pangolins as "weird-looking" vertebrates.

Also, a bizzare invert I forgot to mention is Taonius borealis.

 

[schmiggle]

I was expecting the Rhinopithecus genus to be in the list

I hadn't heard of it before. I didn't think they were that weird looking, but they are creepy lol--it's basically a monkey with a skull face.

By the way, you write quite beautifully, even if I disagree on how I think it would go being in the dark forever.

I'd also nominate Handfish, Harlequin Ghost fish, Seahorses, Mata Mata, Tarsiers and Pangolins as "weird-looking" vertebrates.

Also, a bizzare invert I forgot to mention is Taonius borealis.

Hadn't heard of the first two, and handfish are very, very odd. Thanks for that.

I can't believe I forgot Taonius! I literally spent hours identifying it at after seeing a two or three second clip of it on one of David Attenborough's shows. I also forgot hagfish and lampreys, much to my chagrin.

 

[velvetundergrowth]

Hadn't heard of the first two, and handfish are very, very odd. Thanks for that.

What if I told you I had a Handfish in my bedroom right now?

 

[schmiggle]

What if I told you I had a Handfish in my bedroom right now?

That is what I would usually call a batfish, which I had heard of. Still super cool animals, though. Where did you get yours?

(For reference--I'm calling Ogcocephalidae batfishes and Brachionichthyidae handfishes. It seems that both can be called handfishes. @$%*! common names)

 

[velvetundergrowth]

That is what I would usually call a batfish, which I had heard of. Still super cool animals, though. Where did you get yours?

(For reference--I'm calling Ogcocephalidae batfishes and Brachionichthyidae handfishes. It seems that both can be called handfishes. @$%*! common names)

You're right about the common names, mine was labeled a Handfish from near the Mariana Trench, along with the more specific data and scientific name. Sadly I lost the label long ago :'( I won an eBay auction many years ago, back when I was heavily into collecting marine specimens. It's one of my favorites, along with my Nautilus, Epitonium and Cowerie shells.

 

[The Seraph]

Nautilus, Epitonium and Cowerie shells.

Now, when you say Nautilus, do you mean just a shell or a preserved Nautilus?

 

[velvetundergrowth]

You're right about the common names, it is what would be normally called a Batfish but was labeled a Handfish from near the Mariana Trench, along with the more specific data and scientific name. Sadly I lost the label long ago :'( I won an eBay auction many years ago, back when I was heavily into collecting marine specimens. It's one of my favorites, along with my Nautilus, Epitonium and Cowerie shells.

Now, when you say Nautilus, do you mean just a shell or a preserved Nautilus?

Just the shell, although a preserved one would be awesome. Then again, I don't like the thought of having too many "carcases" in my home (although I already have many, I suppose).
Also, it should be noted that the trade in Nautilus shells is a real threat to their populations. I bought mine from an antique store, but I still feel guilty about it...

I have considered keeping them many times and have seen them very seldomly at my local marine specialist, but they require large(1000 gal +), deep tanks with cool temperatures for anything more than short-term survival. These are not requirements I could realistically provide right now, but my dream is to one-day set up an aquarium to house these and Horseshoe Crabs, and perhaps some other cephalopods. It would be a pretty serious undertaking but would be worth it to create a glimpse into the primordial oceans lost to the millennia.