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Friday, August 20, 2010

Amiskwia saggitiformis

Amiskwia was an flattened swimming invertebrate found in the Burgess Shale. Those spots on the head are thought to be central ganglia. The relationship of Amiskwia to modern animals has yet to be determined.



This is my third attempt at a clay representation of Amiskwia (yes, I'm repeating the name over and over again. It's named for a river in Canada and that skw consonant cluster is fun to type.) For the first two attempts, I tried to portray it in the undulating, swimming position as pictured above. Each time, one of the tentacles around the mouth broke off and I ended up throwing it out. The third time, I made it flat and it survived, but it's just that: flat and not very appealing.