Final answer:
Australopithecus anamensis, dated to be approximately 4.2 million years old, was discovered near Lake Turkana in Kenya by Meave Leakey and her team in 1994. The name is derived from the Turkana word for the region of discovery. This discovery and others like Anomalocaris illustrate how the scientific process evolves with new evidence.
Step-by-step explanation:
Australopithecus anamensis fossils were discovered near Lake Turkana in Kenya in 1994 by an international team led by paleoanthropologist Meave Leakey. These fossils have been dated to be approximately 4.2 million years old. Anamensis is thought to mean 'lake' given the proximity to Lake Turkana, but there is no word Anem that defines it exactly. Instead, the name anamensis is derived from 'anam', which is a Turkana word referring to the region where the fossils were discovered.
Most fossils found are of incomplete organisms. Scientists use the morphology of the available parts to extrapolate what complete organisms might have looked like. This presents challenges such as piecing together fragmented remains and distinguishing between species based on limited information. In the case of Anomalocaris, initial theories about it being a variety of animals, including a jellyfish and a shrimp, were abandoned once more complete fossils were found, showing that it was a predator with large eyes and formidable grasping appendages.
Anomalocaris and its discovery process are testimony to the dynamic nature of the scientific process; as new evidence emerges, theories evolve to provide more accurate representations of historical life forms.