The Burgess Shale

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1. In what country is the Burgess Shale formation located? Great Britain Sweden United States Canada

2. An organism in three parts: its body was originally thought to be a sponge, its mouthparts a jellyfish, and its grasping appendages a shrimp, from which this animal gets its name. Now that it's in one piece, nobody knows quite what group this animal should belong to. But one thing was certain: if you lived in the Cambrian seas, you did not want to see this fella coming! Trilobite Opabinia Anomalocaris Wiwaxia

3. This critter's distinguishing features were paddle-like limbs, five eyes, and a long, nozzle-like appendage with a grasping thing on the end. Opabinia Ottoia Anomalocaris Marrella

4. Hundreds of these little arthropods have been found. They look somewhat like trilobites, but aren't. Opabinia Tuzoia Leanchoilia Marrella

5. Of course, this is the most well-known group of organisms from the Burgess Shale. However, here their soft parts as well as their calcium carbonate-impregnated exoskeletons have been found. Jellyfish Fish Trilobites Acorn Worms

6. This priapulid worm is named after the capital city of Canada. Specimens have been preserved so that their gut and muscle fibers can be seen. Quebeccitia Ottoia Montrealia Banffia

7. This worm-like creature has been hailed as the earliest chordate. Ottoia Chorodotoia Canadaspis Pikaia

8. Let's not forget this spiky, leggy worm. At first, paleontologists couldn't figure out which way was up, the spike side or the legs side, hence the name. Hallucigenia Whatonearthisthisia Crosseyeia Mysteriosia

9. This creature looks (to me) approximately like a very small Hostess snowball with spines coming out the top. Stephen Jay Gould and Conway Morris have argued about what phylum this creature belongs to. Tuzoia Wiwaxia Marrella Aysheaia

10. What is especially special about the Burgess Shale? I wrote this quiz about it It preserves soft-bodied organisms The technobabble species names A Hollywood movie has been made about it