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Prehistorica (Christian M.) @prehistorica.art · Aug 22

Multiple lobopodian fossils from the Chengjiang Biota of Cambrian China, including a specimen of two Diania cactiformis, have been found stacked directly on top of each other.

Perhaps a snapshot into the courtship and reproduction of these ancient arthropod ancestors?

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Reposted by Prehistorica (Christian M.)

Peter Nickolaus @peternickolaus.bsky.social · Jul 26

Results from the #paloestream from 26th July 2025.

Depicted are from top left to down right:
#Palaeocampa
#Nektognathus
#Wudingloong
#Mirasaura

Tags: #paleoart #prehistoric #prehistoriccreatures #paleozoic #prehistoricanimals #peternickolaus #paleopete #dinosaur

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Reposted by Prehistorica (Christian M.)

Joschua Knüppe @joschuaknuppe.bsky.social · Jul 26

Results from the Flocking #paleostream!
Palaeocampa, Nektognathus, Wudingloong, Mirasaura

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Reposted by Prehistorica (Christian M.)

nogain98 @rlatkdwls.bsky.social · Jul 26

#Paleostream flocking! Nektognathus, Palaeocampa, Wudingloong(Sort by age). It is unclear if Wudingloong lived alongside quadrupedal sauropods

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Reposted by Prehistorica (Christian M.)

Luther Wells @ultraluther.bsky.social · Jul 26

Flocking! A Lobopodian was drawn!

Palaeocampa, Nektognathus, Wudingloong, Mirasaura.

#paleostream #paleoart #sciart #art

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Reposted by Prehistorica (Christian M.)

David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · Jul 25

A really nice thread on a strange worm.

#FossilFriday

Prehistorica (Christian M.) @prehistorica.art · Jul 23

Meet Palaeocampa anthrax, a newly discovered Carboniferous lobopodian, and 150 year old mystery fossil!

Palaeocampa is an exceptional lobopodian - it lived in rivers and lakes, bristled with thousands of poisonous spines, and more. 🧵

Open access: nature.com/articles/s42...

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Reposted by Prehistorica (Christian M.)

Communications Biology @commsbio.nature.com · Jul 25

Palaeocampa anthrax, a fossil worm first described from Carboniferous rocks in 1865 as a caterpillar, is redescribed as a freshwater aysheaiid lobopodian with unique sclerite armature and probable chemical defences.
@prehistorica.art
www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Palaeocampa anthrax, an armored freshwater lobopodian with chemical defenses from the Carboniferous - Communications Biology

Palaeocampa anthrax, a fossil worm first described from Carboniferous rocks in 1865 as a caterpillar, is redescribed as a freshwater aysheaiid lobopodian with a unique sclerite armature and probable c...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Prehistorica (Christian M.)

Giant Blue Anteater @kyre-fiskrof.bsky.social · Jul 25

Basically, they're this big mama here, but having lived directly in fresh water with spikes like spiky-boi caterpillars, a head shield, and presumably no ability to shoot glue.

They would definitely be fun to keep in an aquarium!

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Reposted by Prehistorica (Christian M.)

Luis Collantes @luiscollantes.bsky.social · Jul 24

Knecht et al. - Palaeocampa anthrax, an armored freshwater lobopodian with chemical defenses from the Carboniferous

www.nature.com/articles/s42...

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Reposted by Prehistorica (Christian M.)

たてぃとぅてと（B_Wither） @fossiltttttbw.bsky.social · Jul 24

#paleoart
In Carboniferous lake of Montceau-les-Mines, Platysella descusi is trying to bother Palaeocampa anthrax. Palaeocampa curls up and bristles up in defense. Two Palaeocaris secretanae and single Nyranerpeton montceauense are swimming nearby.

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Reposted by Prehistorica (Christian M.)

Neil Kelley @kelleypaleolab.bsky.social · Jul 23

Great thread on a cool newly recognized toxic lobopodian from the famous Mazon Creek lagerstätte.

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Reposted by Prehistorica (Christian M.)

opr_23b @opr-23b.bsky.social · Jul 23

peak lifeform

Prehistorica (Christian M.) @prehistorica.art · Jul 23

Meet Palaeocampa anthrax, a newly discovered Carboniferous lobopodian, and 150 year old mystery fossil!

Palaeocampa is an exceptional lobopodian - it lived in rivers and lakes, bristled with thousands of poisonous spines, and more. 🧵

Open access: nature.com/articles/s42...

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Reposted by Prehistorica (Christian M.)

Howard Lee @hlee.bsky.social · Jul 23

⚒️🧪

Prehistorica (Christian M.) @prehistorica.art · Jul 23

Meet Palaeocampa anthrax, a newly discovered Carboniferous lobopodian, and 150 year old mystery fossil!

Palaeocampa is an exceptional lobopodian - it lived in rivers and lakes, bristled with thousands of poisonous spines, and more. 🧵

Open access: nature.com/articles/s42...

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Reposted by Prehistorica (Christian M.)

dactylioceras.bsky.social @dactylioceras.bsky.social · Jul 23

Palaeocampa anthrax, an armored freshwater lobopodian with chemical defenses from the Carboniferous www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Art by @prehistorica.art

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Reposted by Prehistorica (Christian M.)

Anthony (Tony) J. Martin @ichnologist.bsky.social · Jul 23

🚨LOBOPODIAN ALERT!1!!!11!🚨 Palaeocampa – a fossil known since 1865 – redescribed & now interpreted as: geologically youngest of its kind (315-307 mya), lived in freshwater environments, & (most badass of all) had venomous spines. Great work by Richard Knect, @prehistorica.art, & colleagues. 🧪

Prehistorica (Christian M.) @prehistorica.art · Jul 23

Meet Palaeocampa anthrax, a newly discovered Carboniferous lobopodian, and 150 year old mystery fossil!

Palaeocampa is an exceptional lobopodian - it lived in rivers and lakes, bristled with thousands of poisonous spines, and more. 🧵

Open access: nature.com/articles/s42...

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Reposted by Prehistorica (Christian M.)

たてぃとぅてと（B_Wither） @fossiltttttbw.bsky.social · Jul 23

某所で噂されていた研究が出版された・・・石炭紀の淡水葉足動物！
phys.org/news/2025-07...

Fossil once thought a caterpillar is now the oldest known nonmarine lobopodian

In a twist worthy of a detective novel, a long-misidentified fossil at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) has emerged as a key discovery in early animal evolution.

phys.org

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Prehistorica (Christian M.) @prehistorica.art · Jul 23

Palaeocampa lived among freshwater fish and sharks like xenacanths, small freshwater arthropods like the bizarre horseshoe crab Alanops, in lakes and rivers among the thriving coal forests of the Carboniferous.

There is no other lobopodian quite like it.

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Prehistorica (Christian M.) @prehistorica.art · Jul 23

In fact, Palaeocampa's spines were not its only defence - the papilale that lined the animals dorsum (the upper surface) are sclerotized, with small pores at their centre which housed small setae.

These armoured papillae gave its back a rough, pebbly appearance.

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Prehistorica (Christian M.) @prehistorica.art · Jul 23

It is most similar to Hadranax from the Sirius Passet. They both have stubby, clawless limbs, yet longer than those of velvet worms - they both have elongate frontal appendages, bodies lined with papillae, and a thickened dorsal cuticle.

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Prehistorica (Christian M.) @prehistorica.art · Jul 23

Our phylogenetic analysis places Palaeocampa among the Aysheaiids (the classic Burgess Shale animal Aysheaia being its namesake), a group of poorly known lobopodians known from the Cambrian and Ordovician. Palaeocampa is the only known aysheaiid to possess a sclerite armature.

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Prehistorica (Christian M.) @prehistorica.art · Jul 23

They are septated internally, and serrated externally - even without the poison, these would have been painful to touch. Unlike the urticating hairs of some modern arthropods and plants, these were firmly attached to the body, so their exact function is a mystery.

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Prehistorica (Christian M.) @prehistorica.art · Jul 23

The spines themselves are incredible, and their preservation is immaculate - these spines are unique in the animal kingdom, even among other lobopodians. They emerge from bundled, modified "basement papillae", and only tape slightly at the top before opening outwards again.

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Prehistorica (Christian M.) @prehistorica.art · Jul 23

Our FTIR results support the idea that this fluid, pushed out of the spines upon burial, was likely a natural chemical defence - either poison, or some foul-tasting chemical irritant.

Poisonous lobopodians have been speculated on before, but this is the first solid proof.

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Prehistorica (Christian M.) @prehistorica.art · Jul 23

Palaeocampa, unlike its unarmoured aysheaiid relatives, was protected by thousands of tall sclerite bristles, with a thorny, crenellated tip. In many fossils, the sclerites have a discoloured halo of fluid emerging from the tip - we investigated this with a technique called FTIR.

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Prehistorica (Christian M.) @prehistorica.art · Jul 23

This is an entirely new frontier for fossil lobopodians - when did they first enter freshwater environments, and how long did they survive there? How many more are yet to be discovered?

And theres still more.

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