A Few Good Papers

There are numerous papers on trilobite wounds and feeding in the Cambrian sea as inferred from ichnofossils and taphonomic studies (as a singular example consider Selly, et al. 2015). Many of these address the mouth and feeding appendages of Anomalocaris; however, before considering how the animal was capable of biting and wounding prey or grasping its prey and pulling it toward its mouth, one needs to understand how all of the elements of Anomalocaris anatomy come together. Descriptions of the animal can be found in many different places, but one of the more intense versions of a description of Anomalocaris is Whittington and Briggs, 1985. The authors describe not only the genus Anomalocaris in great detail, but also the general stratigraphic surroundings of all known (at the time) specimens of Anomalocaris and each species in greater detail including the holotypes and any referred material then known. As a comprehensive description for understanding the species this paper is a must read. However, it is a highly detailed scientific paper, and it can therefore be a difficult read as well. One of the first portions of the 40 page article is a terminology section which should help non-scientist readers, arguably. If reading through an article of this length is not for you today, though, popular science articles like Briggs 1994 (includes discussion of a robotic model used to analyze swimming in Anomalocaris), Patterson, et al., 2011 (previously mentioned discussing compound eyes), and Nedin 1999 (for more discussion about the mouth and feeding in Anomalocaris).