Hallucigenia is an extinct genus of lobopodian that lived in Canada and China during the Cambrian period. Lobopodians are a group of invertebrates that first appeared in the Paleozoic from which the velvet worms, water bears, and arthropods arose. It was originally described as a species of Canadia in 1911 before being classified into its own genus in 1977.
The appearance of Hallucigenia has been disputed for decades until the middle of the 2010s. The longer end is revealed to be a head with an anteroventral mouth and a pair of simple eyes. The shape of the head also differs between species.
Hallucigenia has two rows of spines on its back as a mean of defense for predators like Anomalocaris, curling into a ball like a woodlouse. The invertebrate uses tentacles for walking and some for eating as well. Its diet is unknown, but it could be omnivorous.
Jurassic Park franchise[]
Hallucigenia was featured in the Jurassic Park Institute now available to browse on Dinopedia. It is one of the fourth Cambrian animals to be featured in the website. The others are Pikaia, Opabinia, and Trilobite.
