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Prehistoric Life

How long was Pikaia gracilens?

An adult Pikaia gracilens had a total length of about 5 cm (1.97 in).

What is measured: Typical adult, total body length

Pikaia gracilens (5 cm) drawn to scale beside a large coin (2.4 cm) and a smartphone (14.7 cm)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Large coin (2.4 cm), Pikaia gracilens (5 cm) and Smartphone (14.7 cm).

Compare

How big is that, really?

  • About 58% of the length of a credit card
  • About 2.1× the width of a large coin
  • As long as about 7 grains of rice end to end
  • About 2 would fit end to end along a smartphone
  • About 13% of the height of a bowling pin

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Facts about Pikaia gracilens

Pikaia was a small Cambrian animal with a notochord, a flexible supporting structure related to the backbone of vertebrates.

Source: Royal Ontario Museum — Pikaia; Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — Pikaia

Prehistoric Life

NameSizeCompared with Pikaia gracilens
Elrathia kingi2 cm (0.79 in)0.4×
Marrella splendens2.5 cm (0.98 in)0.5×
Eldredgeops rana5 cm (1.97 in)same size
Pikaia gracilens5 cm (1.97 in)this page
Titanomyrma giganteum5 cm (1.97 in)same size
Tribrachidium heraldicum5 cm (1.97 in)same size
Cooksonia pertoni6.5 cm (2.56 in)1.3×
Ottoia prolifica8 cm (3.15 in)1.6×
Olenoides serratus10 cm (3.94 in)2×
Dickinsonia costata14 cm (5.51 in)2.8×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Pikaia gracilens or Cooksonia pertoni?

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