Montecaris

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Montecaris
Temporal range: Frasnian-Famennian 382–359  Ma
Montecaris gogoensis.png
Montecaris gogoensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Crustacea
Class:
Malacostraca
Subclass:
Phyllocarida
Order:
Archaeostraca
Suborder:
Ceratiocaridina
Family:
Echinocarididae
Genus:
Montecaris

Ulrich Jux, 1959
Type species
Montecaris strunensis
Jux, 1959

Montecaris is a genus of extinct phyllocarid crustaceans found in the Upper Devonian of Europe, [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Canada, [6] and Australia. [7]

Contents

Description

Montecaris possesses an unornamented, bivalved carapace which terminates in a spiny posterior. Its caudal tail fin is trifurcated and dagger-like. Species of Montecaris from Europe and Canada are no more than 15 cm (5.9 in) in length, while M. gogoensis from the Gogo Formation of Australia can reach lengths of 24 cm (9.4 in) and, rarely, up to 60 cm (2.0 ft). [6] [7]

Due to its streamlined carapace and large tail fin, Montecaris was likely an active nektonic swimmer, which primarily appears in deep water sediments. Its robust mandibles and powerful musculature suggests a carnivorous lifestyle as an active predator or scavenger. [7]

Species

References

  1. 1 2 Jux, Ulrich (July 1959). "Phyllocariden-Reste aus dem oberen Mitteldevon der Bergisch Gladbach-Paffrather Mulde". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 33 (3): 166–171. doi:10.1007/bf02987374. ISSN   0031-0220. S2CID   128737596.
  2. 1 2 Jux, U. (1960). "Montecaris lehmanni, a new crustacean from the Rhenish Devonian and the problem of its systematic position". Journal of Paleontology (34): 1129–1152.
  3. 1 2 3 Chlupač, I. (1960). "Die Gattung Montecaris Jux (Crustacea, Phyllocarida) im alteren Paläozoikum der Tschechoslowakei". Geologie (9): 638–649.
  4. 1 2 V.N., Krestovnikov (1961). "Novyye rakoobraznye fillokaridy Paleozoya Russkoi platformy, Urala, Timana i Donbassa [New phyllocarid crustaceans from Palaeozoic of the Russian plateau, the Urals, Timan and the Donetz Basin]". Trudy Geologicheskogo Instituta (52): 1–67.
  5. ↑ Zatoń, Michał; Filipiak, Paweł; Rakociński, Michał; Krawczyński, Wojciech (2014). "Kowala Lagerstätte: Late Devonian arthropods and non-biomineralized algae from Poland". Lethaia. 47 (3): 352–364. doi:10.1111/let.12062. ISSN   0024-1164.
  6. 1 2 Pratt, Brian R. (1987-06-01). "The phyllocarid crustacean Montecaris from the Devonian of northwestern Canada". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 24 (6): 1267–1269. doi:10.1139/e87-121. ISSN   0008-4077.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Briggs, Derek E. G.; Rolfe, W. D. Ian; Butler, Piers D.; Liston, Jeff J.; Ingham, J. Keith (2011). "Phyllocarid crustaceans from the Upper Devonian Gogo Formation, Western Australia". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 9 (3): 399–424. doi:10.1080/14772019.2010.493050. ISSN   1477-2019. S2CID   84353143.
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