#cambroraster

Cambroraster falcatus was a radiodont that lived during the Cambrian, about 508-505 million years ago, in what is now western Canada. Part of the hurdiid family of radiodonts, it reached sizes of up to 30cm long (~12") – making it one of the largest animals known from the Burgess Shale fossil deposits.

Its distinctively-shaped massive head shield led to it being nicknamed "the spaceship" during collection and study of numerous fossil specimens. This was then referenced in its species name of "falcatus", inspired by its resemblance to the fictional Millennium Falcon from the Star Wars franchise.

Its short frontal appendages bore long curved spiny blades that formed a basket-like structure. Originally these were thought to be used to sift through seafloor sediment, but more recently they've been proposed as filter-feeding structures instead.

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May the 4th be with you!

These are wallpapers for Xenokeryx amidalae (deer), Han solo (trilobite), and Cambroraster falcatus (radiodont). All three of these critters were named after Star Wars Characters!

and submited them to be published in the art of invertefest digital artbook for april 2025

My favorite guys!! the radiodonts :)

Alt versions under read more 👁

Cambroraster

Cambroraster – вимерлий представник стем-групи (група, котра включає лише вимерлих представників) членистоногих представлений єдиним видом Cambroraster falcatus, що датуються середнім кембрієм. Сотні зразків були знайдені в сланцях Берджес і описані в 2019 році. Велика тварина (для своєї епохи) довжиною до 30 см, вона мала панцир у формі підкови і, мабуть, харчувалася просіюючи осад круглим ротом,…

Повний текст на сайті "Вимерлий світ":

This newfound predator may have terrorized the Cambrian seafloor

With rakelike claws and a toothy mouth, it could snag prey even under the sand

A fierce predator, with spiny claws and a round, rasping mouth, terrorized the Cambrian seafloor 508 million years ago as it raked through the sand in search of food.

Dubbed Cambroraster falcatus, the predator was about 30 centimeters long — which, to the tiny prey of the time, likely seemed monstrous enough. But C. falcatus also had a pair of jointed limbs that ended in rakelike claws, a round mouth lined with sharp, serrated plates and a broad, shield-shaped carapace that covered its head and most of its back, giving it a distinct resemblance to a horseshoe crab, or perhaps a spaceship.

Researchers, who describe C. falcatus for the first time July 31 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, have now found hundreds of fossils of the ancient arthropod — including one showing the critter’s entire body, both front and back — in Canada’s Burgess Shale (SN: 4/27/19, p. 32)...