TUzoia, a Cambrian Bivalved Arthropod

Scientific illustration of Tuzoia, a bivalved arthropod that lived during the Cambrian era, found in the Burgess Shale fossil deposit. This life reconstruction depicts it swimming and shows key traits such as its head, cephalic appendages, and tail f
Scientific diagrams of Tuzoia, a bivalved arthropod that lived during the Cambrian era, found in the Burgess Shale fossil deposit. These diagrams show Tuzoia from a ventral, lateral, and frontal view, as well as details of its cephalic appendages and

Client: Alejandro Izquierdo-López and Dr. Jean-Bernard Caron, Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology at the Royal Ontario Museum
Paper: The problematic Cambrian arthropod Tuzoia and the origin of mandibulates revisited
Year: 2022
Media: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Autodesk Maya


Tuzoia is a bivalved arthropod that lived during the Cambrian era about half a billion years ago. Although common and widespread, most fossils are only of isolated hard carapaces. This reconstruction is based on new specimens showcasing preservation of soft tissues, including the head, appendages, and tail. From the traits observed in these new specimens, the authors inferred Tuzoia’s mode of life, as well as where it is placed in the evolutionary tree of mandibulates, the arthropod group that includes myriapods, crustaceans, and insects.

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