11 Horrifying Prehistoric Creatures From 500 Million Years Ago

Hallucigenia was a Cambrian worm. It had an elongated, spiky body, legs, and needle-sized teeth that went past the jawline down its throat. Its fossil shows a devilish grin, helping scientists identify its head from its tail. Research suggests this creature used its toothy, o-shaped mouth like a vacuum to suck up food.Hallucigenia was a Cambrian worm. It had an elongated, spiky body, legs, and needle-sized teeth that protruded past the jaw line and went all the way down its throat. Its fossil sports a devilish grin that helped scientists identify its head from its tail. Research suggests this creature sucked food up into its toothy, o-shaped mouth like a vacuum cleaner. Despite its unusual appearance, itshares ties with modern-day spiders and cycloneuralia worms.shares ties with modern-day spiders and cycloneuralia worms.

The AnomalocarisAnomalocarisAnomalocaris was a giant for its time. Reaching over three feet long, this maritime creature looked like a huge shrimp. Most of its body consisted only of its head. Its bone-crushing teeth featured serrated prongs so long the creature could not fully close its mouth.

With arms covered in spikes and eyes with 16,000 individual lenses, the AnomalocarisAnomalocarisis believed to have been the sea's most vicious predator. Some scientists claim it ate trilobites, leaving W-shaped indentations in their hard shells that lasted hundreds of millions of years in the fossil record.W-shaped indentationsW-shaped indentations in their hard-shelled bodies that would last in the fossil record for hundreds of millions of years.

The now extinct OpabinaOpabinaOpabina was a strange animal. It had five gaping eyes and a backward head. This pre-Cambrian animal is thought to have waited for food on the ocean floor. Since its mouth sat under its head, it needed its proboscis, a trunk-like snout, to eat. Its jointed legs and the single claw sticking out from its head made the Opabina one bloodcurdling sight to behold.OpabinaOpabina one bloodcurdling sight to behold.

You must respect pre-Cambrian animals by looking at the Fuxianhuiid.FuxianhuiidThis ancient arthropod variation looked very unique. It had limbs growing from the bottom of its head, used to filter and then shovel food into its mouth via detritus sweep-feeding. Even stranger, its nervous system extended past its head. This is a post-cephalic nervous system, and Fuxianhuiid is the oldest known creature on the planet with this trait.FuxianhuiidFuxianhuiid is the oldest known creature on the planet to possess that peculiar trait.

Pre-explosion oceans housed creatures called Vetulicolia.VetulicoliaVetulicolia resembled seashells, but they had gills. Besides these breathing holes, they lacked many sensory parts. These eyeless, legless, armless creatures fooled even expert scientists into thinking they were just rocks or shells.

Maybe you know about the tardigrade.tardigrade, the tiny creature that is basically indestructible.Ovatiovermis cribratusOvatiovermis cribratus is its oldest known ancestor. This amazing organism is a worm with legs. Over 500 million years ago, it swayed and 'danced' to gather food while standing on the ocean floor.

What could be scarier than gazing into the mirror of time and seeing a snakelike version of man? That’s exactly whatPikaia gracilensThis flat, spiraling sea creature is the earliest vertebrate known. It was once mistaken for a worm. This makes it an ancestor to humans and other vertebrates.

Trilobites cover the globe.Trilobites were complex creatures in a simple age. Their bizarre, three-part bodies make them the first known hard-shelled animals on Earth. These creatures acted as scavengers, predators, and prey. Their remains cover every continent except Antarctica.

Experts think trilobites were social creatures with migratory patterns matching modern animals. As the world changed and new creatures appeared, trilobites evolved. They grew sharp calcite lenses in their eyes to improve vision. Complex interlocking shell mechanisms made opening them nearly impossible.

Modern oceans hold animals of every shape, color, and texture. This idea must have started somewhere; perhaps it began with Wiwaxia was a spiky animal that looked like a plant., an example of a strange pre-Cambrian explosion creature. This organism disguised itself as a plant and rested on the ocean floor. Scientists suggest that when threatened, Wiwaxia was a spiky animal that looked like a plant. could stab attackers with its spikes.

The remains of the odd-looking creatures called...Cloudinidae are a mystery.Cloudinidae resemble funnels stacked on top of each other.These pre-Cambrian organisms existed widely across the globe. Yet, little is known about them.Little is known about the Cloudinidae.Despite the many mysteries surrounding them,...Cloudinidae.Cloudinidae remain useful to science: they are the first shelly fossils with mineralized skeletons.

The remains of...prehistoric ctenophoraefrom the Cambrian period look like something you hang on an evergreen tree. But do not be fooled by their festive look—these are jellyfish. Their pre-Cambrian bodies were hard-shelled fortresses, which scientists think protected them from predators.