Amplectobelua

Amplectobelua (meaning "embracing beast") is an extinct genus of late Early Cambrian amplectobeluid radiodont, a group of stem arthropods that mostly lived as free-swimming predators during the first half of the Paleozoic Era.

== Anatomy == left|thumb|Size comparison of two species Amplectobelua was a giant radiodont, with the largest specimen of A. symbrachiata reaching up to in body length excluding the frontal appendages and tail. A. stephenensis is much smaller although total size uncertain due to scant remains. The body structures other than frontal appendages are only known from the type species Amplectobelua symbrachiata. Like other radiodonts, Amplectobelua had a pair of jointed frontal appendages, a head covered by dorsal and lateral sclerites (the latter had been misinterpreted as huge eyes), a limbless body with dorsal gills (setal blades), and a series of flaps on both sides that extended along the length of its body.