As many of you know, I’ve been pretty inactive over the last few years, but have made a limited return to collecting in the last 6+ months. My most recent area of focus has been the Paleozoic seas. I have a separate Cambrian Explosion collection and a Paleozoic seas collection (Ordovician through Permian). My first series of showcasing my collection will begin with worms, mollusks, chordates, jellies, and other related fauna.
PIKAIA: “Pikaia gracilens is an extinct cephalochordate animal known from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia. Sixteen specimens are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprised 0.03% of the community. It resembled the lancelet and perhaps swam much like an eel.”
Royal Ontario Museum Primeval Predators Pikaia:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]This figure was my first Pikaia and among my first Cambrian figures that I purchased back in 2012. The animal itself is somewhat outdated in its reconstruction, as the eyes are thought to have been on the stocks like a snail’s.
Kinto Favorite Ltd. Cambrian Set Pikaia:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]Personally, this Pikaia figure is my favorite. It’s usage of 3 colors as opposed to one, it’s biological accuracy, it’s swimming position, and its stand seal the deal. A must-have for anyone looking into collecting prehistoric fauna.
COG Ltd. Pikaia
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]Of all my Pikaia figures, this one is by far the most unusual. It’s black color as opposed to a white/pink, cartoonish (and inaccurate) eyes, and it’s puzzle-ish body (like Kaiyodo or Yowie) makes it stand out in that sense.
WIWAXIA: “Wiwaxia is a genus of soft-bodied animals that were covered in carbonaceous scales and spines. Wiwaxia fossils – mainly isolated scales, but sometimes complete, articulated fossils – are known from early Cambrian and middle Cambrian fossil deposits across the globe. The living animal would have measured up to 5 cm (2 inch) when fully grown, although a range of juvenile specimens are known, the smallest being 2 millimetres (0.079 in) long.”
Royal Ontario Museum Primeval Predators Wiwaxia:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]The largest of my Wiwaxids is this one from the ROM set I got in 2012. Overall, it is probably the best (besides the Kinto Favorite) Wiwaxia.
Kinto Favorite Ltd. Cambrian Set Wiwaxia:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]My favorite Wiwaxia out of my collection has to be the Kinto Favorite one. It is not nearly as large as the ROM one, but is not tiny like the Yowie one. It is “just right” in size, and has great realism to it. My only criticism is it’s lack of mouthparts, which the ROM figure DOES have.
Cadbury Yowie AU Lost Kingdoms Wiwaxia:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]The Yowie figure is quite interesting with its fun colors, small size, and general differing appearance with regard to its counterparts. I imagine this figure could represent a slightly different subspecies in the genus. Any thoughts?
JELLIES: “Fossil evidence of jellyfish dates back to the Cambrian Period, 500 million years ago. These ancient jellyfish showed the same complexity as modern jellyfish, meaning they either developed rapidly 500 million years ago, or today’s varieties are much older.”
Safari Ltd Wild Safari Sea Life Jellyfish:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]I purchased this figure because of how generic it is. It could represent really any jelly from the time period, and is one of my personal favorites in the collection. It provides some variety beyond the arthropods that essentially ruled the time period.
Cadbury Yowie AU Lost Kingdoms Mawsonites:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]ACCORDING to the paper that the figure came with, Mawsonites has been identified as a jellyfish. Based on fossils, I would tend to agree. However, scientists at this point aren’t really sure what Mawsonites was. Mawsonites also lived during the Ediacaran/Vendian, the period prior to the Cambrian. However, I have decided to include it in my collection because figures from the pre-Paleozoic days are hard to come by and fit right in with my Cambrian critters. I might add that the figure was a pain in the ass to put together!
Cadbury Yowie AU Lost Kingdoms Dickinsonia:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]Simply labeled as “disk jelly” by its accompanying paper, the figure represents that of Dickinsonia. It was the least challenging figure to put together. Like Mawsonites, Dickinsonia has baffled scientists on what it actually was. Moreover, the figure is also representative of the Ediacaran/Vendian.
HALLUCIGENIA: “Hallucigenia is a genus of Cambrian xenusiids known from articulated fossils in Burgess Shale-type deposits in Canada and China, and from isolated spines around the world. The generic name reflects the type species' unusual appearance and eccentric history of study; when it was erected as a genus, H. sparsa was reconstructed upside down and back to front. Hallucigenia is now recognized as a "lobopodian worm". It is considered by some to represent an early ancestor of the living velvet worms, although other researchers favour a relationship closer to arthropods.”
Kinto Favorite Ltd. Cambrian Set Hallucigenia:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]To date, this figure is the ONLY scientifically updated/accurate reconstruction. All the others are based on the upside-down and backwards reconstruction. It is obviously my favorite Hallucigenia because of his adorable little arms and eyes, feminine colors, and its ability to stand up on its own. My COG Ltd. falls over quite frequently and is inaccurate.
COG Ltd. Hallucigenia:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]I’ll admit to being a little harsh on the above figure, but his inability to stay standing because of the legs he stands on and his lack of eyes/face make him a bit plain. Even if he is inaccurate now, they could’ve given him more personality. If you observe closely, you can see where scientists got it wrong.
OTTOIA: “Ottoia is a stem-group archaeopriapulid worm known from Cambrian fossils. Although priapulid-like worms from various Cambrian deposits are often referred to Ottoia on spurious grounds, the only clear Ottoiamacrofossils come from the Burgess Shale of British Columbia, which was deposited 508 million years ago. Microfossils extend the record of Ottoia throughout the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, from the mid-to late-Cambrian.”
COG Ltd. Ottoia:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]I remember when the only Ottoia one could own was this one. I also remember when COG Ltd. aka TEDCO Toys pulled its Dino Horizons Panorama line for a short period, and this figure was completely unattainable. My desire for Ottoia was satisfied once I acquired the Safari Ltd. rendition. However, I must say that I appreciate the figure’s pose. It is true to how the fossils are found (usually in a “U” shape) and how they are illustrated in their burrows. They make great Opabinia food too.
Safari Ltd. Cambrian Toob Ottoia:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]As mentioned above, I was really excited for this figure because of my previous inability to get the COG Ltd. Ottoia. I appreciate this model’s variety in colors and unique pose.
HAPLOPHRENTIS: “Haplophrentis is a genus of tiny shelled hyolithid which lived in the Cambrian Period. Its shell was long and conical, with the open end protected by an operculum, from which two fleshy arms called helens protruded at the sides. These arms served to elevate the opening of the shells above the sea floor, acting like stilts.”
Shapeways Haplophrentis:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]Although not made on the market, you can find this one on Shapeways. I purchased it, custom-painted it with my horrible painting skills, and now it has a place on my shelf. The figure is hollow, which doesn’t really matter to me. It also has mouth features and is scientifically accurate. The figure is absolutely fantastic. If anyone wants it, it is labeled as “Hyolithid” on Shapeways. However, Haplophrentis was a common Cambrian Hyolithid, so I reckon the figure is of this species.
Anyways, that’s a wrap! Thanks for reading a viewing. Next up on the docket is Cambrian trilobites!
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Your collecting subject changed dramatically and now you look like you were another collector. You opened an excellent topic, I've read all your descriptions and I opened all picture links. It means I've spent as much time in this thread as you took to put together the pieces of your Yowies Mawsonites. I am not sure I understand your reply to Blaine but IMGUR provides codes to make your pictures display directly on this thread and turn it even better. Let me know if you need any help. 