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Aysheaia is an extinct genus of soft-bodied lobopodian, known from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia, Canada
A sclerite is a hardened body part. In various branches of biology the term is applied to various structures, but not as a rule to vertebrate anatomical features such as bones and teeth. Instead it refers most commonly to the hardened parts of arthropod exoskeletons and the internal spicules of invertebrates such as certain sponges and soft corals. In paleontology, a scleritome is the complete set of sclerites of an organism, often all that is known from fossil invertebrates.
The Chancelloriids are an extinct family of superficially sponge-like animals common in sediments from the Early Cambrian to the early Late Cambrian. Many of these fossils consists only of spines and other fragments, and it is not certain that they belong to the same type of organism. Other specimens appear to be more complete and to represent sessile, radially symmetrical hollow bag-like organisms with a soft skin armored with star-shaped calcareous sclerites from which radiate sharp spines.
Scenella is an extinct genus of fossil invertebrate animal which is generally considered to be a mollusc; at various times it has been suggested that this genus belongs with the gastropods, the monoplacophorans, or the helcionellids, although no firm association with any of these classes has been established. An affinity with the hydrozoa has been considered, although some authors oppose this hypothesis. A gastropod affinity is defended on the basis of six pairs of internal muscle scars, whilst the serially-repeated nature of these scars suggests to other authors a monoplacophoran affinity. However the specimens showing this scarring have not been convincingly shown to belong to the genus Scenella. A similarity to the Ediacaran Ovatoscutum has also been drawn.
Chancelloria is a genus of early animals known from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale, the Comley limestone, the Wheeler Shale, the Bright Angel Shale and elsewhere. It is named after Chancellor Peak. It was first described in 1920 by Charles Doolittle Walcott, who regarded them as one of the most primitive groups of sponges. However, they are currently thought to be member of the group Chancelloriidae. 178 specimens of Chancelloria are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise 0.34% of the community.
Palaeophragmodictya is an extinct genus of sponge-grade organisms from the Ediacaran Period. Originally interpreted as a hexactinellid sponge, the organism also bears some coelomate characteristics, including bilateral symmetry.
The small shelly fauna, small shelly fossils (SSF), or early skeletal fossils (ESF) are mineralized fossils, many only a few millimetres long, with a nearly continuous record from the latest stages of the Ediacaran to the end of the Early Cambrian Period. They are very diverse, and there is no formal definition of "small shelly fauna" or "small shelly fossils". Almost all are from earlier rocks than more familiar fossils such as trilobites. Since most SSFs were preserved by being covered quickly with phosphate and this method of preservation is mainly limited to the late Ediacaran and early Cambrian periods, the animals that made them may actually have arisen earlier and persisted after this time span.
Capsospongia, formerly known as Corralia or Corralio, is a middle Cambrian sponge genus known from 3 specimens in the Burgess shale. Its type and only species is Capsospongia undulata. It has a narrow base, and consists of bulging rings which get wider further up the sponge, resulting in a conical shape. Its open top was presumably used to expel water that had passed through the sponge cells and been filtered for nutrients.
Hazelia is a genus of spicular Cambrian demosponge known from the Burgess Shale, the Marjum formation of Utah, and possibly Chengjiang. It was described by Charles Walcott in 1920.
Takakkawia is a genus of sponge in the order Protomonaxonida and the family Takakkawiidae. It is known from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale that reached around 4 cm in height. Its structure comprises four columns of multi-rayed, organic spicules that align to form flanges. The spicules form blade-like structures, ornamented with concentric rings.
Anthaspidellidae is an extinct family of sponges whose dendroclone spicules form ladder-like trabs.
Fieldospongia is a genus of sea sponge known from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. Just five specimens of Fieldospongia are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise less than 0.1% of the community.
Hamptonia is an extinct genus of sea sponge known from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale and the Lower Ordovician Fezouata formation. It was first described in 1920 by Charles Doolittle Walcott. 48 specimens of Hamptonia are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise < 0.1% of the community.
Hazeliidae is an extinct family of spicular Cambrian sea sponges known from the Burgess Shale, the Marjum Formation of Utah, and possibly Chengjiang. It was described by Charles Walcott in 1920.
The Marjum Formation is a Cambrian geological formation that overlies the Wheeler Shale in the House Range, Utah. It is named after its type locality, Marjum Pass, and was defined in 1908. The formation is known for its occasional preservation of soft-bodied tissue, and is slightly younger than the Burgess Shale, falling in the Ptychagnostus praecurrens trilobite zone.
Reticulosa is an extinct order of sea sponges in the class Hexactinellida and the subclass Amphidiscophora. Reticulosans were diverse in shape and size, similar to their modern relatives, the amphidiscosidans. Some were smooth and attached to a surface at a flat point, others were polyhedral or ornamented with nodes, many were covered in bristles, and a few were even suspended above the seabed by a rope-like anchor of braided glass spicules.
Heteractinida is an extinct grade of Paleozoic (Cambrian–Permian) sponges, sometimes used as a class or order. They are most commonly considered paraphyletic with respect to Calcarea, though some studies instead argue that they are paraphyletic relative to Hexactinellida. Heteractinids can be distinguished by their six-pronged (snowflake-shaped) spicules, whose symmetry historically suggested a relationship with the triradial calcarean sponges.
Protomonaxonida is an extinct order of sea sponges. It is a paraphyletic group gathering the most ancient species from the Burgess Shale to modern sponges.
Amphidiscosida is an order of hexactinellids. The Amphidiscosida are commonly regarded as the only living sponges in the subclass Amphidiscophora.
This is a list of the biota of the Burgess Shale, a Cambrian lagerstätte located in Yoho National Park in Canada.
References
- 1 2 3 4 Kruse, P. (1983). "Middle Cambrian 'Archaeocyathus' from the Georgina Basin is an anthaspidellid sponge". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 7 (1): 49–58. Bibcode:1983Alch....7...49K. doi:10.1080/03115518308619633.
- 1 2 Bingli, L.; Rigby, J.; Zhongde, Z. (2003). "Middle Ordovician Lithistid Sponges from the Bachu-Kalpin Area, Xinjiang, Northwestern China". Journal of Paleontology. Paleontological Society. 77 (3): 430–441. doi:10.1666/0022-3360(2003)077<0430:MOLSFT>2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 4094792.
- ↑ Keith Rigby, J. (1973). "A New Anthaspidellid Sponge from the Silurian of Lake Timiskaming, Quebec". Journal of Paleontology. Paleontological Society. 47 (4): 801–804. JSTOR 1303055.
- ↑ Rigby, J.K.; Collins, D. (2004). Sponges of the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale and Stephen Formations. Royal Ontario Museum Contributions in Science. Vol. 1. Royal Ontario Museum.
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