UC Berkeley
Take a good look at the fossil and reconstruction of Hallucigenia. Then compare what you see to the arthropod checklist below.
Use your mouse to hover over the image and zoom in. (Touch the image on a mobile device.)
Does it look like Hallucigenia inherited all of the characters of an arthropod?
- arthropod characters
- bilateral symmetry
- segmented body
- hard exoskeleton
- jointed legs
- many pairs of legs
Based on the available evidence, is Hallucigenia part of the arthropod lineage?
Yes No
Nice try, but maybe we should have shown you the hint first:
Arthropods have segmented bodies and jointed legs. Look closely at the reconstruction above. Do Hallucigenia's legs look more like fleshy tubes or more like the armored, jointed legs of a lobster? Is Hallucigenia's body divided into discrete segments like a centipede's or is its body smooth and continuous?
Arthropods have segmented bodies and jointed legs. Look closely at the reconstruction above. Do Hallucigenia's legs look more like fleshy tubes or more like the armored, jointed legs of a lobster? Is Hallucigenia's body divided into discrete segments like a centipede's or is its body smooth and continuous?
Get a hint
Arthropods have segmented bodies and jointed legs. Look closely at the reconstruction above. Do Hallucigenia's legs look more like fleshy tubes or more like the armored, jointed legs of a lobster? Is Hallucigenia's body divided into discrete segments like a centipede's or is its body smooth and continuous?