Pauloterminus Temporal range: | |
---|---|
Fossil of P. spinodorsalis | |
Life restoration | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Order: | † Hymenocarina |
Family: | † Waptiidae |
Genus: | † Pauloterminus Taylor, 2002 |
Species: | †P. spinodorsalis |
Binomial name | |
†Pauloterminus spinodorsalis Taylor, 2002 | |
Pauloterminus is an extinct genus of bivalved arthropod known from Early Cambrian (about 520 to 516 million years ago) Sirius Passet locality of northern Greenland. It is tentatively classified under the family Waptiidae. [1]
The genus only has a single species P. spinodorsalis. It was first described by the paleontologist Rod S. Taylor in 2002. Its generic name is derived from Latin paulus ("small") and terminus ("end"). The specific name is from Latin spina ("thorn") and dorsalis ("of the back"). [1]
The ovoid-shaped bivalved carapace encloses the head and the anterior section of the trunk. The carapace is slightly less than twice as long as it is tall, and becomes wider posteriorly. The largest known carapace is 49.5 millimetres (1.95 in) long and 30 millimetres (1.2 in) wide, while in the smallest known specimens it is less than a centimere in length. The head is poorly known, though it is suggested that they lacked eyes. One specimen has partially preserved pair of segmented antennae, which have at least 4 segments, which decrease in length towards the end of the antenna. The thorax was likely tube shaped, and had six segments, each associated with a pair of biramous limbs, which decrease in size posteriorly. The limb endopods are thin and annulate, and approximately 1mm in width, while the exopods were lobe-shaped and bore setae. The abdomen was limbless and had five segments, and terminated in a pair of segmented caudal flukes. [1]
In its original description, Pauloterminus was noted to be morphologically similar to Waptia and Chuandianella, both historically considered "waptiids", but it is unclear whether the group is monophyletic. [1]
Skania is a Cambrian fossil arthropod. The type species, S. fragillis, is known from the Burgess Shale of British Columbia, Canada. A second possible species "S." sundbergi is known from the Kaili Formation of China, but its placement within the genus has been questioned.
Canadaspis is an extinct genus of bivalved Cambrian arthropod, known from North America and China. They are thought to have been benthic feeders that moved mainly by walking and possibly used its biramous appendages to stir mud in search of food. They have been placed within the Hymenocarina, which includes other bivalved Cambrian arthropods.
Waptia fieldensis is an extinct species of arthropod from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale Lagerstätte of Canada. It grew to a length of 6.65 cm (3 in), and had a large bivalved carapace and a segmented body terminating into a pair of tail flaps. It was an active swimmer and likely a predator of soft-bodied prey. It is also one of the oldest animals with direct evidence of brood care. Waptia fieldensis is the only species classified under the genus Waptia. Other specimens of Waptia are known from the Spence Shale in Utah.
Buenellus higginsi is an average size trilobite, which lived during the Lower Cambrian period, in what is now North-West Greenland. It is a prominent member of the Sirius Passet fauna. Buenellus higginsi is the only known species in the genus Buenellus.
Burgessia is a genus of arthropod known from the mid-Cambrian aged Burgess Shale of British Columbia, Canada. It is relatively abundant, with over 1,700 specimens having been collected.
Habelia is a genus of extinct arthropod from the Middle Cambrian, thought to be one of the earliest known relatives of chelicerates. Its fossils have been found in the Burgess Shale in British Columbia, Canada. Fifty-four specimens of Habelia are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise 0.1% of the community.
A number of assemblages bear fossil assemblages similar in character to that of the Burgess Shale. While many are also preserved in a similar fashion to the Burgess Shale, the term "Burgess Shale-type fauna" covers assemblages based on taxonomic criteria only.
Tuzoia is an extinct genus of large bivalved arthropod known from Early to Middle Cambrian marine environments from what is now North America, Australia, China, Europe and Siberia. The large, domed carapace reached lengths of 180 millimetres (7.1 in), making them amongst the largest known Cambrian arthropods.
Chuandianella ovata is an extinct bivalved arthropod that lived during Cambrian Stage 3 of the Early Cambrian. It is the only species classified under the genus Chuandianella. Its fossils were recovered from the Chengjiang Biota in Yunnan, China.
Isoxys is a genus of extinct bivalved Cambrian arthropod; the various species of which are thought to have been freely swimming predators. It had a pair of large spherical eyes, and two large frontal appendages used to grasp prey.
Pectocaris is a extinct genus of bivalved arthropods from the Cambrian Maotianshan Shales, Yunnan Province of China. There are currently three known species within the genus.
Primicaris is genus of Cambrian arthropod from the Chengjiang biota of China and the Burgess Shale of Canada. It contains a single described species, P. larvaformis.
Molaria is a genus of Cambrian arthropod, the type species M. spinifera is known from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. 144 specimens of Molaria are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise 0.27% of the community. A second species M. steini was described from the Sirius Passet in Greenland in 2017.
Kiisortoqia soperi is an extinct species of arthropod from the Early Cambrian Sirius Passet Lagerstätte in Greenland. While it had a superficially trilobite-like bodyform, it also possessed large frontal appendages similar to those of radiodonts.
Aaveqaspis is a genus of small marine arthropods of unclear affiliation, that lived during the early Cambrian period. Fossil remains of Aaveqaspis were collected from the Lower Cambrian Sirius Passet fossil-Lagerstätte of North Greenland. Aaveqaspis looks like a soft eyeless trilobite with a weakly defined axis, a headshield with stubby genal spines, 5 thorax segments also ending in stubby genal spines, and a tailshield (pygidium) with a pair of massive tusk-like spines, and two smaller spines near the end of the axis. The only species presently known is A. inesoni.
Buenaspis is a genus of small nektaspid arthropod, that lived during the early Cambrian period. Fossil remains of Buenaspis were collected from the Lower Cambrian Sirius Passet Lagerstätte of North Greenland. Buenaspis looks like a soft eyeless trilobite. It has a headshield slightly larger than the tailshield (pygidium), and in between them six thoracic body segments (somites). The genus is monotypic, its sole species being Buenaspis forteyi.
Erratus is an extinct genus of marine arthropod from the Cambrian of China. Its type and only species is Erratus sperare. Erratus is likely one of the most basal known arthropods, and its discovery has helped scientists understand the early evolution of arthropod trunk appendages. Some of the stem-arthropods like radiodonts did not have legs, instead they had flap like appendages that helped them swim. Erratus on the other hand had not only flaps but also a set of primitive legs. It also supported the theory that the gills of aquatic arthropods probably evolved into the wings and lungs of terrestrial arthropods later in the Paleozoic.
Pakucaris is an extinct genus of bivalved arthropod known from a single species, Pakucaris apatis, found in the Marble Canyon locality of the Burgess Shale in British Columbia, Canada. It is thought to be a member of Hymenocarina. Unlike other members of that group, the posterior segments are covered with a separate pygidium shield, covergent on other arthropods like artiopods. Specimens range in length from 11.65 to 26.6 millimetres. The main bivalved carapace covers around 80% of the body, with the pygidium covering the remaining 20%. The head has a forward and downward facing pair of moderately sized eyes on short stalks, along with three pairs of cephalic appendages. The thorax has either 30-35 or 70-80 segments, depending on the specimen, while the pygidium has either 11-13 or 20 segments. The segments of the thorax and pygidium have pairs of thin filamentous limbs divided into 20/21 podomeres, with paddle-like exopods. It was probably nektobenthic, and its ecology was likely that of a selective suspension feeder, using its limbs to scrape and/or suspend food particles from the sea floor, before using its limbs to capture and transfer them to the mouth.
Jugatacaris is an extinct genus of bivalved arthropod known from a single species, Jugatacaris agilis found in the Cambrian Stage 3 aged Chengjiang biota of Yunnan, China. The carapace is around 28 to 37 millimetres in length, with a pronounced ridge at the top of the carapace separating the two valves, which formed a fin-like structure raised above the carapace. The head has a pair of stalked eyes, as well as a dumbbell shaped medial eye between them. The head also bore a pair of mandibles as well as at least one and possibly two pairs of antennules. The trunk had up to 65 segments, each with biramous appendages. The appendages had thin endopods with 30 podomeres, each bearing a spiny endite, with the endopods ending with a terminal claw. The appendages also had overlapping flap-like exopods, which are elongated, being at maximum eight times as long as they are wide, which on their posterior edge are covered with setae. The trunk ended with a forked tail. It was likely an actively swimming filter feeder, using its constantly beating appendages to sift food from the water column, which was then passed forward along the U-shaped food groove between the appendage pairs towards the mouth. While initially placed as a crustaceanomorph, later studies considered to be a member of Hymenocarina, which contains numerous other similar bivalved Cambrian arthropods.
Surusicaris is an extinct genus of bivalved arthropod, known from the Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia, Canada. It is considered to be closely related to Isoxys, and like it has spined grasping frontal appendages.