🪐 View in 3D Galaxy 📏 View on 3D Scale Stage

🧬 Biological Classification (Kingdom to Species)Opabinia regalis

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Opabiniidae

Genus

Opabinia

Species

Opabinia regalis

🥩 Carnivore

Opabinia

Opabinia regalis (Opabinia · オパビニア・レガリス)

🛡️ Conservation Status (IUCN Red List)FOSSIL (Extinct Fossil)

Known only from fossils. The IUCN Red List assesses only species extant since 1500 CE, so fossil taxa are not assigned a category.

Geological Era

Cambrian (~509.7 MYA)

Diet

Carnivore

Length · Height

4.3~7cm · No data

Mass · Top Speed

No data · No data

Habitat & Fossil Locality

Middle Cambrian sea of the Burgess Shale in Canada (swimming close to the seafloor)

💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed

💡 Its maximum body length of 7 cm (excluding the proboscis) is about 2.6 times the diameter of a Korean 500-won coin (about 2.65 cm) (Comparison).
💡 In the Walcott Quarry fossil assemblage, Opabinia regalis makes up only 0.006%, making it a rare animal at roughly 0.6 individuals per 10,000 (Calculation).

Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.

#오파비니아#Opabinia regalis

📖 1. Overview

Opabinia regalis was a small, bizarre animal with five eyes from the Cambrian Burgess Shale. Its fossils are very rare, with only 42 specimens known across all collections combined.

🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology

Its head bore four stalked eyes and one large central eye, along with a flexible proboscis 4 times the length of the head ending in a spiny claw. The body had 15 segments, each with lateral lobes, plus a tail fan, and its mouth faced backward.

🔍 3. Fossil Record & Paleoecology

It is thought to have swum by undulating its lateral lobes and steered with its tail fan. Researchers interpret it as a predator that caught prey with the claw at the tip of its flexible proboscis and brought it to its mouth.