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Wiwaxia is a genus of soft-bodied animals that were covered in carbonaceous scales and spines that protected it from predators. Wiwaxia fossils – mainly isolated scales, but sometimes complete, articulated fossils – are known from early Cambrian and middle Cambrian fossil deposits across the globe. The living animal would have measured up to 5 cm (2 inch) when fully grown, although a range of juvenile specimens are known, the smallest being 2 millimetres (0.079 in) long.
Gogia is a genus of primitive eocrinoid blastozoan from the early to middle Cambrian.
Fieldia is a genus of worms known from the Cambrian Burgess Shale, and assigned to the priapulids. It was originally interpreted as an arthropod; its trunk bears a dense covering of spines, and its proboscis is small. It fed on sea-floor mud, evidenced by the frequent presence of sediments preserved in its gut.
Odaraia is a genus of bivalved arthropod from the Middle Cambrian. Its fossils, which reach 15 centimetres (5.9 in) in length, have been found in the Burgess Shale in British Columbia, Canada.
Burgessochaeta is an extinct genus of polychaete annelids from the Middle Cambrian. Its fossils have been found in the Burgess Shale in British Columbia, Canada. A total of 189 specimens of Burgessochaeta are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise 0.36% of the community. Specimens have also been found at Marble Canyon. The genus was described by Conway Morris (1979) and re-examined by Eibye-Jacobsen (2004).
Canadia is a genus of extinct annelid worm present in Burgess Shale type Konservat-Lagerstätte. It is found in strata dating back to the Delamaran stage of the Middle Cambrian around 505 million years ago, during the time of the Cambrian explosion. It was about 3 centimeters in length. Charles Doolittle Walcott named Canadia in 1911 after Canada, the country from which its remains have been found. 28 specimens of Canadia are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise 0.05% of the community.
Morania is a genus of cyanobacterium preserved as carbonaceous films in the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. it is present throughout the shale; 2580 specimens of Morania are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise 4.90% of the community. It is filamentous, forms sheets, and resembles the modern cyanobacterium Nostoc. It would have had a role in binding the sediment, and would have been a food source for such organisms as Odontogriphus and Wiwaxia.
Ancalagon minor is an extinct priapulid worm known from the Cambrian Burgess Shale.
The Phyllopod bed, designated by USNM locality number 35k, is the most famous fossil-bearing member of the Burgess Shale fossil Lagerstätte. It was quarried by Charles Walcott from 1911–1917, and was the source of 95% of the fossils he collected during this time; tens of thousands of soft-bodied fossils representing over 150 genera have been recovered from the Phyllopod bed alone.
Cambrorhytium is an enigmatic fossil genus known from the Latham Shale (California), and the Chengjiang (China) and Burgess Shale lagerstätte. 350 specimens of Cambrorhytium are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise 0.7% of the community.
Falospongia is a genus of sponge made up of radiating fronds, known from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. Its name is derived from the Latin fala ("scaffold") and spongia ("sponge"), referring to the open framework of the skeleton. It superficially resembles Haplistion but is monaxial. 5 specimens of Falospongia are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise under 0.1% of the community.
Mackenzia is an elongated bag-like animal known from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. It attached directly to hard surfaces, such as brachiopod shells. 14 specimens of Mackenzia are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise <0.1% of the community. Mackenzia was originally described by Charles Walcott in 1911 as a holothurian echinoderm. Later, Mackenzia is thought to be a cnidarian and appears most similar to modern sea anemones.
Louisella is a genus of worm known from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. It was originally described by Charles Walcott in 1911 as a holothurian echinoderm, and represents a senior synonym of Miskoia, which was originally described as an annelid. 48 specimens of Louisella are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise < 0.1% of the community. It has been stated to have palaeoscolecid-like sclerites, though this is not in fact the case.
Insolicorypha is a genus of polychaetes known from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. A single specimen of Insolicorypha is known from the Greater Phyllopod bed. The genus was described by Conway Morris (1979) and re-examined by Eibye-Jacobsen (2004).
Oesia disjuncta is a monospecific genus of hemichordate known from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. 1147 specimens of Oesia are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise 2.18% of the community. It was previously compared to the chaetognaths.
Peronochaeta is a genus of annelid known from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. 19 specimens of Peronochaeta are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise < 0.1% of the community. The genus was described by Conway Morris (1979) and re-examined by Eibye-Jacobsen (2004).
Pollingeria is a problematic genus of animals of the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. 3080 specimens of Pollingeria are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise 5.85% of the community.
Selkirkia is a genus of predatory, tubicolous priapulid worms known from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale, Ogygopsis Shale and Puncoviscana Formation. 142 specimens of Selkirkia are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise 0.27% of the community. In the Burgess Shale, 20% of the tapering, organic-walled tubes are preserved with the worm inside them, whereas the other 80% are empty. Whilst alive, the tubes were probably vertical, whereas trilobite-occupied tubes are horizontal.
Wapkia is an extinct genus of sea sponge with radial sclerites, known from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. It was first described in 1920 by Charles Doolittle Walcott. 32 specimens of Wapkia are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise 0.06% of the community.
This is a list of the biota of the Burgess Shale, a Cambrian lagerstätte located in Yoho National Park in Canada.
References
- ↑ Caron, Jean-Bernard; Jackson, Donald A. (October 2006). "Taphonomy of the Greater Phyllopod Bed community, Burgess Shale". PALAIOS. 21 (5): 451–65. Bibcode:2006Palai..21..451C. doi:10.2110/palo.2003.P05-070R. JSTOR 20173022. S2CID 53646959.
- ↑ Conway Morris, S. (1979). "Middle Cambrian Polychaetes from the Burgess Shale of British Columbia". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. 285 (1007): 227–274. Bibcode:1979RSPTB.285..227M. doi:10.1098/rstb.1979.0006. JSTOR 2418139.
- ↑ Eibye-Jacobsen, D. (2004). "A reevaluation of Wiwaxia and the polychaetes of the Burgess Shale". Lethaia. 37 (3): 317–335. doi:10.1080/00241160410002027.
