#NationalTacoDay, you say? We thought it was National Taco-Shaped, Shrimp-Like Arthropod Day. Close enough. 🌮 Meet the Odaraia alata: #Paleontologists from Canada’s Royal Ontario Museum recently discovered that this creature was one of the earliest mandibulates, or arthropods with mandibles — which are pairs of mouthparts used for biting, cutting or holding food. An earthling of the bountifully biodiverse Cambrian period, it had a mandible lined with tiny teeth as well as a trident-shaped tooth between its jaws — giving the creature an evolutionary advantage during the Cambrian explosion. The discovery helps scientist better understand the #evolution of #arthropods. Today, #mandibulates are fairly common and include crustaceans, centipedes and millipedes, and insects. Nature is neat.