Aside from its protuberant eyes, anomalocaris had formidable claws lined with spines which it used to catch its prey and a "gnarly-looking circular mouth with teeth-like serrations inside".
Although they have very effective digging claws, they prefer to occupy dens that are made by gophers, wood rats, pocket gophers, striped skunks, or armadillos.
Although a retraction mechanism is not known, it has been hypothesized that the claws later retract passively, while the damaged tissue is regenerated.
