'' Lyrarapax'' is a

radiodont Radiodonta is an extinct order of stem-group arthropods that was successful worldwide during the Cambrian period. They may be referred to as radiodonts, radiodontans, radiodontids, anomalocarids, or anomalocaridids, although the last two original ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of the family

Amplectobeluidae ''Amplectobeluidae'' is a clade of Cambrian Radiodonta, radiodonts. Definition In 2014, ''Amplectobeluidae'' was defined as the most inclusive clade including ''Amplectobelua, Amplectobelua symbrachiata'' but not ''Anomalocaris, Anomalocaris ca ...

that lived in the early Cambrian period 520 million years ago. Its neural tissue indicates that the radiodont frontal appendage is protocerebral, resolving parts of the

arthropod head problem The (pan)arthropod head problem is a long-standing zoological dispute concerning the segmental composition of the heads of the various arthropod groups, and how they are evolutionarily related to each other. While the dispute has historically c ...

and showing that the frontal appendage is homologous to the antennae of Onychophorans and labrum of

euarthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chitin, oft ...

s. Its fossilized remains were found in

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...

in southwestern China. A second species was described in 2016, differing principally in the morphology of its frontal appendages.

Taxonomy

The scientific name "''Lyrarapax''" is a compound word of the Latin "lyra" (lyre) and "rapax" (predator), and is named after the outline of the body of this genus, which resembles a stringed instrument called a lyre, as well as its presumed predatory lifestyle.

References

Fossils of China Anomalocaridids Fossil taxa described in 2014 Paleontology in Yunnan Prehistoric arthropod genera {{paleo-arthropod-stub Cambrian genus extinctions