The Cambrian Period that relates to the Burgess Shale is bookended by the Cambrian Explosion just before-an unfathomably large flowering of different species around the planet-and the mass extinction events that followed in intervals after, including the one that infamously killed off the dinosaurs. That means even their soft tissues, typically lost during the decomposition process when organisms are exposed to the weather, were left intact. Back then, a massive number of animals fell into something like a mudslide and were preserved almost in entirety. The Burgess Shale is a huge deposit of fossils that dates back over 500 million years to the Cambrian Period. The gigantic bivalved arthropod Balhuticaris voltae-distantly similar to today’s crustaceans-has a unique outer shell-body, or carapace, that drapes over its front like the floppy ears of a basset hound.īurgess Shale animals occupy a huge space in the public imagination, fueled by iconic science writer Stephen Jay Gould’s 1989 book Wonderful Life.

In a surprising twist, a tweet on July 11, announcing an upcoming paper about a new Burgess Shale creature, received nearly 8,000 likes and over 2,000 retweets. The Cambrian Period (541 million years ago–485.4 million years ago) saw a huge proliferation of new species.Balhuticaris voltae is a gigantic bivalved arthropod with distinctive eyes, segments, and a special shell.The 500-million-year-old Burgess Shale is home to a newly-identified species.

Wonderful life burgess shale