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Titanokorys is a genus of extinct Hurdiidae (peytoiid) Radiodonta (a grouping of primitive Stem-group which lived during the early Paleozoic) that lived during the Miaolingian epoch of the middle Cambrian. It is the largest member of its family from the Cambrian, with an estimated body length of around long, making it one of the largest animals of the time. It bears a resemblance to the related, and contemporary, genus Cambroraster. Fossils of T. gainesi were first found within the Marble Canyon locality of the Burgess Shale in 2018, however the fossils were not named until 2021 because they were assumed to be giant specimens of Cambroraster.
The taxon is one of several genera of radiodonts known from the Burgess Shale, with some of the others being Cambroraster, Anomalocaris, Peytoia, and Hurdia. Titanokorys is distinguished from other Burgess Shale radiodonts because of its large anterior sclerite (head covering carapace, or H-element) and a pair of spines on the anteroventral sides. Based on the shape of its appendages, Titanokorys is speculated to have used them to sift through the sand looking for prey. It is believed to have fed by using its anterior sclerite to scoop up from the Seabed. Then it would use the endites on its frontal appendages (long grasping structures that all radiodonts possessed) to trap the prey item so it could start consuming it. Because of its size, Titanokorys was one of the Predation of the Burgess Shale and one of the largest animals in its ecosystem. However, it is a relatively rare faunal component, suggesting that the Burgess Shale represented the edge of this radiodonts geographic range.
The first description of the genus and type species was made in 2021 by Jean-Bernard Caron and Joseph Moysiuk. This study was based on twelve specimens that came from the Marble Canyon area of Tokumm Creek in the northern part of Kootenay National Park in British Columbia. All previously known specimens are kept at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in the Department of Invertebrate Paleontology (ROMIP). Before the animal was named, researchers often nicknamed it the "mothership" or "Space Shuttle" in reference to its massive frontal sclerite (H-element) resembling a starship.
Living alongside Titanokorys was a similar-looking hurdiid radiodont called Cambroraster. This closely related genus is so similar to Titanokorys that the latter was originally thought to have been a giant specimen of the former genus and not a distinct taxon. The main difference between them is size, with Cambroraster reaching in length, while Titanokorys possibly reached a length of around . Another difference is the shape of the sclerite, with Cambroraster having a horseshoe shaped sclerite that was in width for the largest specimen. On the other hand, Titanokorys had a more pointed, larger head sclerite which reached in length. The grasping appendages of the two genera are almost identical, though the secondary spines on the appendages of Titanokorys are longer than, and possibly not terminally hooked, as the ones seen in Cambroraster.
Due to the depth of the Marble canyon site In comparison to the Cathedral Escarpment, Titanokorys, and the contemporary fauna most likely inhabited a Mesopelagic zone environment. Recent studies have also found evidence of in the area, suggesting that these formations would've been present in some areas of the Benthic zone environment.
Based on differences in size, Titanokorys probably escaped competition with Cambroraster by hunting larger prey, thereby exploiting a different . Aside from Cambroraster, other creatures lived alongside T. gainesi. The fauna in the region included the basal hurdiid Mosura fentoni, Hymenocarina arthropods such as Tokummia and Balhuticaris, the primitive chordate Metaspriggina, and the Isoxyida arthropod Surusicaris. Like all stem and total group arthropods, Titanokorys had to shed its outer skin to grow larger. This is evidenced by the holotype specimen (ROMIP 65415) which probably represents a collection of Moulting remains. Sometimes, fossils of these Exuviae are found alongside numerous specimens of the Agnostida arthropod genus Peronopsis in the immediate vicinity or directly on the exuvia. Why the arthropods were on the exuvia is unclear, but they could have been eating from the molting residues or grazed on a possible biofilm that was growing on it.
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