Here I go, sketching weird things again. This time, my subject is Amplectobelua symbrachiata.

Amplectobelua symbrachiata was an anomalocaridid, related to the more well-known Anomalocaris, both found in Cambrian deposits (dating at ~540-525 million years ago). Amplectobelua was a bit smaller than the Anomalocaris species, but it was still somewhat larger than most of the other creatures at the time. One of the major distinguishing features of this specie is the large spine on the fourth segment of the front appendage. They really look like they ought to stab something, and so the current consensus is that they were predators. Because these animals had relatively soft bodies, their fossils are only found in areas of particularly excellent preservation, such as the Burgess Shale and Chengjiang fossil beds.

The anomalocaridids are very different from anything else that is alive today and their relationship to living creatures is still disputed. They are often considered to be closely related to either the arthropods (such as insects), lobopods (such as velvet worms), or both.

This particular sketch is based on Sam Gon's reconstruction (which can be found at his website). The front appendages were supplemented with Daley and Budd's detailed analysis ("New Anomalocaridid Appendages From the Burgess Shale, Canada," 2010), but I killed some of the detail because it was inconsistent with the style on the rest of the creature (though it still properly indicates 15 segments and the distinctive spine).

I should note that, while the body appears segmented, I do not intend to claim this. It simply looked better than leaving the body blank, as there is no real detail to put there from current reconstructions. However, it is also possible that it was, especially considering the paired lateral appendages, paired diverticula (not shown as they are internal), and probable close relationship to two groups that are similarly segmented. The weird fuzziness at the back of the lateral appendages is an attempt to acknowledge the "lanceolate blades" that most documents note but do not appear to show in their reconstructions.

Sorry for any mindsplosions. */infodump* |D