Opabinia regalis is an extinct species from the Cambrian period, known for its unusual body structure. It had a segmented body, five eyes, a backward-facing mouth, and a distinctive snout with a claw-like appendage. It inhabited marine environments, likely playing a role in the early marine food web as a predator.

Opabinia regalis is a prehistoric animal species from the Cambrian period, approximately 505 million years ago. It is known from fossils found primarily in the Burgess Shale Formation in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, British Columbia, Canada.

During the Cambrian period, the region that is now the Burgess Shale was a shallow marine environment. The area was characterized by warm, tropical seas with abundant marine life, including a variety of invertebrates.

Opabinia regalis occupied a niche as a benthic, soft-bodied predator or scavenger. It likely lived on the ocean floor, using its five eyes for visual navigation and its unique proboscis to capture prey or scavenge organic material. Its niche involved interacting with a diverse ecosystem, contributing to the complex food web of the Cambrian marine environment.