Wiwaxia papilio

3D Model

Yunnan Province, China, ~518 million years old.

Wiwaxia had a tiny body covered in overlapping defensive sclerites. The hidden, lower surface consisted of a muscular foot and mouthparts for scraping food, like algae, off the sea floor. Wiwixia would have crawled slowly over the sea floor in search of food, as many similar molluscs do today.

First Animals exhibition at Oxford University Museum of Natural History: www.oum.ox.ac.uk/firstanimals

Model by Mighty Fossils: www.mightyfossils.com