# @centerforbiodiv on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DAlm91fJnnU
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/23709633-centerforbiodiv-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/e53f4efe55.jpg
- **Posted:** 2024-10-01T16:07:10.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Center for Biological Diversity (@CenterForBioDiv) — https://gondola.cc/CenterForBioDiv

## Caption

#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.

## Stats

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- **Likes:** 150
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- **Comments:** 2

## Tags

evolution, arthropods, paleontologists, mandibulates, nationaltacoday

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