A predator armed with six long claws  prowled the seas more than 500 million years ago and was among the ancestors of modern insects, spiders and lobsters, scientists have found. The lobster-like Yawunik kootenayi had four eyes and long whip-like antennae that extended from the tips of its claws. Four of the claws also bore opposing rows of teeth that helped the creature catch its prey in the prehistoric seas of the Cambrian period. Scroll down for video . Yawunik kootenayi, shown in the reconstruction above, lived in the ocean 508 million years ago. The lobster-like creature had four eyes and long whip-like antennae that extended from the tips of its claws . A fossil of the strange looking creature was discovered in Marble Canyon at the north end of Kootenay National Park in the Canadian Rockies. Palaeontologists say the species was probably one of the first predatory arthropods to roam the planet - a group that later evolved into spiders, lobsters and insects. A crocodile-like amphibian that was the size of a small car dominated prehistoric lakes more than 200 million years ago, a new study has found. Palaeontologists discovered the fossilised remains of the 'super salamander' while excavating on the site of an ancient lake in southern Portugal. The predator, which grew to be around two metres (6.5 ft) in length and lived in lakes and rivers during the Late Triassic Period, has been named Metoposaurus algarvensis. With a mouth filled with sharp needle-like teeth it is thought to have preyed upon fish but could also have snapped up any small early dinosaurs that got to close to the water. The predatory creature, which like all arthropods had an external skeleton or exoskeleton, is thought to have lived 508 million years ago. Cedric Aria, a evolutionary biologist at the University of Toronto who was part of the team that discovered the species, said: 'This creature is expanding our perspective on the anatomy and predatory habits of the first arthropods, the group to which spiders and lobsters belong. 'It has the signature features of an arthropod with its external skeleton, segmented body and jointed appendages, but lacks certain advanced traits present in groups that survived until the present day. 'We say that it belongs to the 'stem' of arthropods.' The researchers, whose study is published in the journal Palaeontology, describe how Yawunik has many primitive features that resemble those that later evolved in insects and crustaceans. It has long frontal appendages that resemble the antennae of modern beetles or shrimp, but in Yawunik these were actually each comprised of three long claws. The fossil of Yawunik (above) was discovered in Marble Canyon at the north end of Kootenay National Park in the Canadian Rockies. It was examined using scanning electron microscope to help reveal its tiny details . The image above shows the fossil of Yawunik kootenayi in slate just after it had been excavated by scientists. On the end of each claw were long flagella that the scientists believe helped the creature sense the environment around it .Two of the claws on each appendage were also studded with opposing rows of teeth . On the end of each claw were long flagella that the scientists believe helped the creature sense the environment around it. Two of the claws on each appendage were also studded with opposing rows of teeth that helped it grip its prey. When attacking its prey, Yawunik probably spread its claws out in front of it and then retracted them under its body when swimming, say the researchers. The fossil was discovered in Marble Canyon in north end of Kootenay National Park in the Canadian Rockies . Mr Aria said: 'Unlike insects or crustaceans, Yawunik did not possess additional appendages in the head that were specifically modified to process food. 'Evolution resulted here in a combination of adaptations onto the frontal-most appendage of this creature, maybe because such modifications were easier to acquire. 'We know that the larvae of certain crustaceans can use their antennae to both swim and gather food. Yawunik was named in tribute to the Ktunaxa People who have long inhabited the Kootenay area around Marble Canyon. Yawunik was a fierce mythological marine creature according to Ktunaxa legends. It caused such mayhem that other animals launched an epic hunt to kill it. 'But a large active predator such as a mantis shrimp has its sensory and grasping functions split up between appendages. 'Yawunik and its relatives tell us about the condition existing before such a division of tasks among parts of the organism took place.' Although only a few inches long, Yawunick was probably one of the key predators in the seas at the time when the water was dominated by trilobites and before the first fish had begun to emerge. Yawunik was named in tribute to the Ktunaxa People who have long inhabited the Kootenay area around Marble Canyon. Yawunik was a fierce mythological marine creature according to Ktunaxa legends. It caused such mayhem that other animals launched an epic hunt to kill it. The researchers used scanning electron microscope technology to make maps of the fossil and reconstruct how it would have looked. The new species Yawunik is thought to have folded its long front claws under its body when it was swimming. Yawunik was named in tribute to the Ktunaxa People who have long inhabited the Kootenay area around Marble Canyon. It was a fierce mythological marine creature according to Ktunaxa legends . Professor Jean-Bernard Caron, who led the study at the University of Toronto, said: 'Yawunik is the most abundant of the large new species of the Marble Canyon site, and so, as a predator, it held a key position in the food network and had an important impact on this past ecosystem.' Donald Sam, director of traditional knowledge and language at the Ktunaxa Nation Council, said: 'Yawunik is a central figure in the Ktunaxa creation story, and, as such, is a vital part of Ktunaxa oral history. 'I am ecstatic that the research team recognizes how important our history is in our territory, and chose to honour the Ktunaxa through this amazing discovery.'
Yawunik kootenayi was found in Marble Canyon in the Canadian Rockies . The creature is an early predatory arthropod that swam the Cambrian seas . Fossil belongs to a group that gave rise to spiders, insects and lobsters . Scientists say it had two front appendages with three long claws on each .