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Prehistoric Life

How long was Anomalocaris canadensis?

An adult Anomalocaris canadensis had a body length of about 1 m (3 ft 3 in).

What is measured: adult, body length

Anomalocaris canadensis (1 m) drawn to scale beside a bowling pin (38.1 cm) and an adult person (1.7 m)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Bowling pin (38.1 cm), Anomalocaris canadensis (1 m) and Adult person (1.7 m).

Compare

How big is that, really?

  • About 59% of the height of an adult person
  • About 6 would fit end to end along a 20-foot shipping container
  • About 50% of the height of a doorway
  • About 2.6× the height of a bowling pin
  • As long as about 12 credit cards end to end

Learn

Facts about Anomalocaris canadensis

Anomalocaris was a Cambrian marine predator with grasping frontal appendages and a circular mouth.

Source: Royal Ontario Museum — Anomalocaris; Encyclopaedia Britannica — Anomalocaris

Prehistoric Life

NameSizeCompared with Anomalocaris canadensis
Anomalocaris canadensis1 m (3 ft 3 in)this page
Diplocaulus magnicornis1 m (3 ft 3 in)same size
Eoraptor lunensis1 m (3 ft 3 in)same size
Australopithecus afarensis1.1 m (3 ft 7 in)1.1×
Smilodon1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)1.2×
Sinosauropteryx prima1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)1.2×
Heterodontosaurus tucki1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)1.2×
Smilodon fatalis1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)1.2×
Thylacosmilus atrox1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)1.2×
Compsognathus longipes1.25 m (4 ft 1 in)1.3×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Anomalocaris canadensis or Smilodon?

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