MoP-In the Graspers of Wonder

Monsters of the Past is a speculative story series like a narrative of a prehistoric BBC documentary. I work hard on often. I have several prepared chapters for your pleasure, and they will be accompanied by an illustration. The one below isn't too good, but it gets better.

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The Cambrian Explosion was not subtle. It left the barren, Cryptozoic world now filled with exotic monsters, none of which you would probably recognize. The new, higher oxygen level may have been a contributing factor. What is now British Columbia was hunting ground for a number of odd, scuttling or floating creatures. Included was a small Acidaspis foraging across the sandy floor. It stops abruptly, and sheds its hard, horn-covered shell. Suddenly, a larger shape scuttles from behind and dispatches the Acidaspis, with blood floating free around the carcass. It is another, larger trilobite, Huntoniatonia, taking advantage of the trilobite by striking it when it was exposing itself from its shell. The Huntoniatonia is satisfied. Suddenly, a mammoth shadow forms around the panicking Huntoniatonia. Danger! Unfortunately, the predator is now prey to the King of the Cambrian, Anomalocaris. This massive invertebrate is a shocking foot long! At first, it was believed this oddity was three entirely different creatures! This only proves that Anomalocaris was a truly unrecognizable beast. It is believed that Huntoniatonia and Acidaspis were both Silurian animals, but it is possible they lived back in the Cambrian, and never fossilized. Many would be surprised that Anomalocaris could have ripped the armor off the trilobite, but many should acknowledge the amazing, hooked graspers of Anomalocaris. Satisfied with its catch, the Anomalocaris swims onward, using its skin flaps on its sides as fins. As it swims, it sees the many bizarre animals of the Cambrian, such as Archaeocyathians, sponge like animals anchored the seafloor, Halkeria, a scaly sluglike animal, and Pikaia, a seemingly insignificant animal with a notochord. Eventually, it sees an attractive female, watching intently another male Anomalocaris displaying its brightly colored graspers. This male must be careful, because if he fails to impress the female, the larger female may eat her suitor. It is amazing how such primitive animals had such a complex mating ritual. The staring male begins to fly into combat with the suitor, and hopefully may impress the female. In a blur, the suitor is attacked by another male. The two are entwined into a violent fight, batting the other with their graspers. Blood is emitted into the water, and a swarm of Marrella wait for a loser to fall onto the seabed, so they can have a feast. Eventually, the Anomalocarids lock their graspers together, and cannot free themselves, so they begin to bash their bodies together. In one final pull, the aggressor rips its body from the suitor, ripping it apart. Not just does the Anomalocaris now have an extra meal, it has the opportunity to mate.