Artist rendering of Cambroraster, a predator from half a billion years ago. (Credit: Lars Fields © Royal Ontario Museum)

Half a billion years ago, Cambroraster falcatus was a bizarre predator of the Cambrian seas. As it moved through the water, enormous mouth and rake-like claws at the ready for its next meal, it cast a shadow on the seafloor reminiscent of the most famous bucket of bolts in the entire Star Wars galaxy: the Millennium Falcon.

Cambroraster grew to about a foot long. Th