--- title: What Is the Largest Animal: This Sea Creature Was Once Seven Feet description: The newly discovered aegirocassis benmoulae looks a bit like both a shrimp and a lobster. But, at 7-feet-long, this animal was no shrimp. canonical: https://time.com/3745687/giant-sea-creature-fossil-ocean/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-16T14:06:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:06:22.617Z article:section: Science og:title: What Is the Largest Animal: This Sea Creature Was Once Seven Feet og:description: The newly discovered aegirocassis benmoulae looks a bit like both a shrimp and a lobster. But, at 7-feet-long, this animal was no shrimp. og:url: https://time.com/3745687/giant-sea-creature-fossil-ocean/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71af69123f241226/698783a2428a9e28eacc7a14/giant-sea-creature.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2027 og:image:height: 1140 og:image:alt: An artist's rendering of a filter-feeding Aegirocassis benmoulae from the Ordovician Period feeding on a plankton cloud. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Is the Largest Animal: This Sea Creature Was Once Seven Feet twitter:description: The newly discovered aegirocassis benmoulae looks a bit like both a shrimp and a lobster. But, at 7-feet-long, this animal was no shrimp. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt71af69123f241226/698783a2428a9e28eacc7a14/giant-sea-creature.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Giant Sea Creature Was Once Earth's Largest Animal > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Overstepping Boundaries: The Danger of Invasive Species [Watch (HLS stream): Overstepping Boundaries: The Danger of Invasive Species](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/zHyAT7e9.m3u8) (2:18)  _Published 2013-12-04. What are invasive species, and why are they dangerous? TIME's Bryan Walsh explains how animals like the Asian carp, lionfish, and Burmese python can be a threat._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Mar 16, 2015 2:06 PM UTC  An artist's rendering of a filter-feeding Aegirocassis benmoulae from the Ordovician Period feeding on a plankton cloud. An artist's rendering of a filter-feeding Aegirocassis benmoulae from the Ordovician Period feeding on a plankton cloud. Marianne Collins—ArtofFact/Reuters  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Mar 16, 2015 2:06 PM UTC The newly pieced together skeleton of _Aegirocassis benmoulae,_ a 480-million-year-old sea creature, looks a bit like a cross between a shrimp and a lobster. But at 7-feet-long, this animal was no shrimp. In fact, it was likely [once the largest animal on earth](http://www.nature.com/articles/nature14256.epdf?referrer%5Faccess%5Ftoken=A9f7MUk0YtIcIz3NpcblftRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0PcsBOGlcL6Hrtr0U11H0%5FeXdYWHwdwJRKlhS%5FG13Gs8IDB1SHQHV5ked7GPSnOSaRkFfY%5F1Vdma8HFy8Y7a59l-CtstasmEoMgUHwU7mzr7NVuZn5OBHUxyt%5FytncDYtpaAfbhchnB%5F%5FOdgRicLxDU-ndO-uxZ7YyaQSjtiJUoVOex2w%5FNTbY3S9gtJd5fhJTg1Q1BSq7DFrZkrdl9XCBL&tracking%5Freferrer=news.sciencemag.org). The fossil’s discovery in Morocco, outlined in a _Nature_ article last week, sheds new light on arthropods from the palaeozoic era, or from about 542 million years ago to 251 million years ago. The _Aegirocassis_ has a second set of fins unlike previously thought, and while many similar arthropods would actively seek out prey, the _Aegirocassis_ captured plankton through a net-like appendage_._ But don’t worry: Its method of feeding likely made the _Aegirocassis_ relatively easy going, despite its size, researchers told [Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/11/us-science-creature-idUSKBN0M725O20150311). “Given the huge size of _Aegirocassis_ and its very alien appearance, I assume most people would probably be terrified if they’d encounter it while swimming,” said Yale University paleontologist Peter Van Roy, a study author. However, contrary to almost all other anomalocaridids which were active predators, our animal would have been a very peaceful guy.” ## Transcript One of the biggest threats to endangered species isn't poaching, or pollution, or climate change. It's other animals. Here's what you need to know. Just look at the Asian carp, invasive species that have been threatening the US for years. The carp were imported by Midwest and fish farmers in the 1970s, eventually escaped due to flooding. The fish, which can grow as large as 110 pounds, who have a habit of leaping out of the water like silver missiles when they're threatened, are voracious eaters. US officials were so worried that the carp would make their way all the way up to the Mississippi River, and into the Great Lakes' ecosystem, that the White House named a carp czar in 2010, and has since spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to defend the Lakes; but those efforts may be for naught. A new study found out last month that a number of grass carp, a subspecies of Asian carp, seemed to have established themselves in a river that leads directly in to the Great Lakes, which means they could be setting up the stage to breed for years. Then there's the lion fish, a spine three- tipped species that has wreaked havoc in the Atlantic since it was accidentally introduced during Hurricane Andrew back in 1992. Lion fish is a rapid breeder, and an indiscriminate hunter, consuming more than 40 species, including valuable commercial ones like the grouper. Like many invasive species, they're especially dangerous because native species have no innate fear of them until too late. On land, Burmese pythons, often released accidentally as pets by their owners, have begun to menace the Florida everglades. The python can grow nearly 20 feet, can take down everything from bobcats to small alligators. In 2012, [ unk ] the everglades from the drastic reduction in the number of small mammals that tend to make up the diet of the python, a sign the snakes are beginning to have a major impact on one of the most important ecosystems in the United States. Given the threat from invasive species, it's unsurprising that governments spend billions of dollars a year in trying to deal with it. And the problem's getting worse. Part of the [ unk ] mixing up habitats, putting animals from one part of the world to another; while growing international trade can ship species across the globe. The fight against invasive species has long been a losing battle, and [ unk ] led some scientists to say time to stop trying to fight. After all, a species that left its home in Africa millions of years ago has since spread to every corner of the world. It should be a familiar one. 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