“Thanks to the work we have been doing at the ROM on amazing fossil animals such as Tokummia and Waptia, we already know a substantial amount about the early evolution of mandibulates.”
More than half of all current species on Earth are mandibulates. Today, mandibulates are found everywhere.
They are represented by crabs that live in the sea, bees that fly from flower to flower, and centipedes that crawl on the ground. The first mandibulates originated as marine animals during the Cambrian period.
The largest collections of Cambrian fossils are housed in the Royal Ontario Museum. Specimens of Odaraia are available for public viewing.
The analysis of Odaraia was published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
