This is a high quality 1:1 scale resin model of Nectocaris pteryx. Nectocaris is an ancient, extinct organism with an uncertain placement obtained from the Burgess Shale. It is very likely that it is an ancient ancestor of today's mollusks (nautiloids, cuttlefish and octopus); it lived in the middle Cambrian (about 530 million years ago). It’s highly probable that this organism had an active aquatic life. Its anatomic form allowed it to swim rather quickly and it indicates predatory habits (as implied by the large eyes placed at the front of the head); the funnel placed on the lower part of the head, more specifically insinuates its propulsive capacity. For more information:
 
Martin R. Smith & Jean-Bernard Caron, 2010:Primitive soft-bodied cephalopods from the Cambrian. Letter Nature  Vol 465, 27 May 2010
 
Caron, J.-B., Scheltema, A.H., Schander, C. & Rudkin, D. 2006: A soft-bodied mollusc with radula from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. Nature 442, 159–163.
 
Conway Morris, S. The Crucible of Creation: the Burgess Shale and the rise of animals (Oxford Univ. Press, 1997).