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[–] 52 points 2 years ago (4 children)

I mean they're only weird because we're not used to them, giraffes, narwals and sea-urchins are pretty weird as well.

Not to mention something like the platypus

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  • [–] 29 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Even snakes are bizarre. We have a creature with no limbs, just a very dangerous head and a potentially very dangerous body, and it uses its skin to move. And they can eat things whole which are several times the size of their head. Seriously, wtf.

    Oh and even better, they range in size from adorable little worms to big enough to eat a human whole. And what kind of exercise do constrictors even do to get strong enough to suffocate something that outweighs it??

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  • [–] 42 points 2 years ago*

    Just think of the Cambrian as Life being roughly a multiplayer Spore-like game doing an open alpha test or an early access release.

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  • [–] 37 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    They look like an average Spore creation. We have sword meatloaf, spiky hotdog, spaghetti mouth, and Bob.

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  • [–] 29 points 2 years ago

    Leave them alone, they're just products of their environments!!

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  • [–] 17 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    Why did swords sticking out of brain need to evolve?

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago

    Because up to that point animal life was closer to sponges than anything else. Maybe a moving blob here and there in the ediacaran. Then shit evolved predation, mobility, pursuit sensation… And so what does the blob do? The simplest thing that by chance can change in its dna. And what is that? Hardened spikes with no real anchoring or repurposing. Just swords sticking out of a brain.

    Meanwhile someone else is evolving to float around and have the majority of its body mass by stingers and someone else is becoming all of bugs

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  • [+] -9 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Great question! Do some science.

    I'll give you a starting place. Consider their mobility, camoflauge, protection, abilities of their predators, habits of their prey, and mating strategies.

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  • [–] 14 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    you dont need camoflauge look at that pokey-eye mf'er

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  • [–] 15 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Anomalocaris means "weird shrimp" so I get the feeling the Cambrian freaks out the nerds sometimes, too.

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  • [–] 14 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    The first picture is actually just an ancient router.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    took a little while to figure out that somewhere between four and ten appendages with a mouth on the front and a butthole on the back was the best layout.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years ago

    Wiwaxia, Hallucigenia, Tully Monster and Anomalocaris if anyone's wondering

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  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago*

    The aliens we were imagining as children?

    We are way past that.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago

    It's not a phase mom

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago

    Well someone hasn't played Spore.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    These just look like normal deep sea creatures. Ever see those videos with the marine biologists talking while they explore the deep with an unmanned submarine? They find weird shit like this all the time.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    It's just a phase mom!

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