Amplectobelua symbrachiata

Description

Yunnan Province, China, ~518 million years old. One of the largest of the Chengjiang animals, *Amplectobelua* was a top predator that used wide **body flaps** to swim above the sea floor, helped by a stabilising **tail fan**, with large stalked eyes used to spot prey. It had two spiny **frontal appendages** for grasping and holding prey, with three pairs of shorter tooth-like appendages used to shred food as it was passed towards the mouth opening. Created for the First Animals exhibition at Oxford University Museum of Natural History: www.oum.ox.ac.uk/firstanimals Model by Mighty Fossils: www.mightyfossils.com