Alternate Cambrian Explosion - Priapulida

For a primer on Priapulida, see here:

For a look at the ancestor of these Priapulids, see here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoia

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The priapulids were pugnacious predators in the Cambrian, and as soon as they colonized the land, they began to dominate, growing limbs and pairs of eyes with impunity. 

Terrestrial predatory species come in a variety of shapes and sizes, including forms with varying numbers of limbs:


Cursorial forms also evolved, being able to sprint or lope after prey - 

Small, quick-running omnivores are in evidence too, with jaws that could tackle many sorts of hard food -

Some arboreal predators became sit-and-wait hunters, that lash out to capture unsuspecting prey: 

The most fierce predatory priapulids were raptorial, with large grappling appendages -

The herbivorous forms vary in their number of legs, and size, with some being huge:

Various quicker-moving herbivores of mid and small size are also found - 

Some kinds are able to reach into the undergrowth in order to feed:


Some herbivorous forms became arboreal clingers, that clamber slowly, feeding on fruiting bodies and select pieces of growth-

The descendants of some terrestrial Priapulids eventually took to the water again, and some multi-finned forms came to dominate the ocean -

The most successful predatory marine Priapulids, however, converged upon a fish-like shape - 


The Priapulids are the group which dominates the most in the present day here, in this way they resemble the vertebrates, if not in shape then in niche and function.

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This alternate Cambrian world is a strange place, far removed from our version of earth, and it clearly plays host to forms that do not resemble ours at all, however, convergence can be clearly seen in some instances too, as it is a law of evolution.

All images, designs and writing on this blog are the property of Timothy Donald Morris, do not use, reproduce, or copy them without my permission.
© Timothy Donald Morris 2021

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