Saturday, March 24, 2012

Creature Feature: Scenella.

Hello, and welcome to another entry set in the Cambrian shallow seas. Before we start today's entry, we would like to remind you all that this blog does not condone the use of psychoactive drugs. That means that everything we post from the Cambrian Period definitely existed. We're sorry if this disappoints any of you.

That said, mollusks with hats.

 

Scenella was one of several strange mollusks in the shallow Cambrian seas. It has been found in Asia, Antarctica, Europe, and North America. There have also been some theories that it was related to floating hydrozoans like the Portuguese man-o'-war, although several things say it's an ancient mollusk. 

Scenella were small, shelled creatures. They often hung around in groups if the Burgess Shale is any indication. They were probably eaten by larger, faster things like Opabinia and Ottonia - both of which are trippy in their own right. Scenella themselves probably ate algae and small bits of debris. In other words, they were the zebra mussels of their time.



Despite probably bearing many similarities to small, modern mollusks, Scenella remains strange. That hat-like shell makes it look like an ancient limpet (which probably could use an entry in and of itself), which would line up with it being a mollusk rather than an oddly-developed hydrozoan. An affinity to gastropods (snails and slugs) is likely due to how the muscles were attached. Show me the evidence for these guys being hydrozoans and we will gladly hear you out.

Remember, kids, seeing things out of your nightmares and acid trips on this blog is A-OK. It's all right in museums and labs, too. If, however, you are walking along and see a troupe of hat-wearing mollusks crossing the road, you may wish to see a shrink.

1 comment:

  1. Those aren't hats - they are UFOs! Beware the mollusks! Their dominance in the Ordovician Period is just a prelude to what's next: World Domination. Don't believe me? It's all proven here: http://daisybrain.wordpress.com/2010/11/02/mollusks-are-taking-over-the-world/

    ReplyDelete