What era did the Anomalocaris live?

Answer 1

The genus of Anomalocaris lived in the Paleozoic Era. This included the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian periods. Anomalocaris lived in the Early to Mid Cambrian Period (age of trilobites and Anomalocarids, including Anomalocaris) between 525 and 520 million years ago, but evolution kept it's descendants in existence until the late Devonian! Anomalocaris lived in almost the entire southern hemisphere at her peak.

Anomalocaris was about a metre long, making it the biggest creature at the time. The aquatic beasts ate a diet of a wide variety of trilobites using some dragonfly-like eyes to spot them and rattling armor plates to propel themselves chase them. Anomalocaris was so successful that it evolved into a startling 6-8 other organisms (depending if Kerymachela and Pambdelurion are actually Anomalocarids). In comparison, less successful Australopithecus (human ancestor) evolved into only 1 or 2 other cavemen species.

However, even the most successful come to an end. In the Tornian Turnover in the mid Cambrian Anomalocaris itself went extinct. At the Cambrian's catastrophic ending all of it's descendants disappear from the fossil record. Strangely, another Anomalocarid appears in the Mid Devonian (age of Placoderms and Early Amphibians). In the Late Devonian extinction the line of primitive Arthropods (bugs) went extinct with the final Anomalocarid, Schinderhannes, going extinct.

However, distant relatives (and favorite meals) Trilobites would survive. They evolved into all arachnids, bugs with 8 legs. This includes scorpions, Spiders, mites, and harvestmen, for example. Less closely related proto-arthropods Hallucigenia would evolve into all centipedes and millipedes. Finally, highly unrelated proto-arthropod Forfexicarids would evolve into crustaceans and insects.

Answer 2

Anomalocaris lived during the Cambrian period, which occurred approximately 541 to 485 million years ago. They were among the largest and most diverse predators of that time, with unique feeding adaptations.