Yes, it’s Opabinia! Stephan Jay Gould was so taken with it that he was considering calling Wonderful Life (1990), his book about the Cambrian fauna of the Burgess shale, Homage to Opabinia. Not so long ago in a comment here, John Harshman, discussing a video (in the Evolving Planet exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago), declared, “I especially enjoy watching Opabinia snagging priapulids with its nose-hose.” You can share his joy without traveling to Chicago thanks to a visitor who filmed the video and posted the footage to YouTube.
The winner for the week: Dan Coleman, first of the commenters (here and at NCSE's Facebook page) to identify Opabinia. And a tip of the hat to Steven Newton, who took the photograph.
