Verrocaris

Verrocaris Temporal range: Cambrian Stage 4 PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Holotype of Verrocaris kerrymatti
Interpretive drawing of the holotype
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Stem group:	Arthropoda
Class:	† Dinocaridida
Order:	† Radiodonta
Family:	† Anomalocarididae
Genus:	† Verrocaris Oxman et al., 2025
Species:	†V. kerrymatti
Binomial name
†Verrocaris kerrymatti Oxman et al., 2025

Verrocaris is an extinct genus of radiodont of the family Anomalocarididae from the Kinzers Formation, located in Pennsylvania, United States. The genus contains a single species, Verrocaris kerrymatti, which may be an intermediate between bottom-feeding anomalocaridids and the suspension-feeding radiodont Tamisiocaris .

Discovery and naming

Verrocaris is known from two specimens: the holotype, NMNS P-A-2300, and a referred specimen, USNM PAL 90827 (part) and NMNS P-A 388 (counterpart), both of which consist exclusively of frontal appendages. The referred specimen was previously referred to Tamisiocaris aff. borealis. ^[1] Both specimens were discovered in the outcrops of the Kinzers Formation in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. ^[2]

The genus name, Verrocaris, comes from the Latin verrere, meaning "to sweep", and caris, meaning "crab". The specific name, kerrymatti, honours Kerry D. Matt. ^[2]

Description

The frontal appendage is divided into a peduncle and a distal articulated region. The peduncle is composed of a single podomere, while the distal articulated region is composed of 15 podomeres. The endites are long and lack auxiliary spines. They do not alternate in length like the endites of Anomalocaris and Lenisicaris do. ^[2]

Verrocaris may be an intermediate form between other anomalocaridids, which may have been bottom-feeders, and taxa like Tamisiocaris, which were suspension feeders. ^[2]

Paleobiology

Verrocaris likely preyed on worm-like organisms living in loose substrate on the seafloor, which were probably consumed using suction. The frontal appendages may have been used to brush away sediment that was covering prey. ^[2]

Paleoecology

Other radiodonts from the Kinzers Formation include ? Laminacaris sp., Lenisicaris pennsylvanica, and Amplectobelua aff. symbrachiata. ^{[1] [3]}

References

1. Pates, Stephen; Daley, Allison C. (30 July 2018). "The Kinzers Formation (Pennsylvania, USA): the most diverse assemblage of Cambrian Stage 4 radiodonts". Geological Magazine. 156 (7): 1233–1246. doi:10.1017/S0016756818000547. ISSN   0016-7568.
2. Oxman, Katherine L.; Minkowitz, Conner; Thomas, Roger D. K. (29 December 2025). "Verrocaris kerrymatti n. gen. n. sp., a new "misfit" anomalocaridid radiodont (Euarthropoda) from the Kinzers Formation (Cambrian, Series 2, Stage 4) of Pennsylvania and its implications". Journal of Paleontology: 1–14. doi:10.1017/jpa.2025.10194. ISSN   0022-3360.
3. Wu, Yu; Ma, Jiaxin; Lin, Weiliang; Sun, Ao; Zhang, Xingliang; Fu, Dongjing (1 May 2021). "New anomalocaridids (Panarthropoda: Radiodonta) from the lower Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstätte: Biostratigraphic and paleobiogeographic implications". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 569 110333. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110333. ISSN   0031-0182.