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Thulaspis
''Thulaspis'' is an extinct genus of artiopodan arthropod from the Cambrian Stage 3 aged Sirius Passet site in Greenland. It is thought to be a close relative of '' Squamacula'', and is possibly one of the most basal members of Artiopoda. Description ''Thulaspsis'' was relatively large-sized. The largest specimen is about wide and long. The carapace is overall oval-shaped was convex and likely stiff in life, with a raised central axis. The head is broad and bears a pair of antennae, which have at least 20 rectangular segments, and likely two pairs of biramous (two branched) limbs.The body has 15 thoracic segments, which curve forwards in the first few segments, before becoming straight in the fourth and fifth segments, then increasingly posteriorly curved in subsequent segments. At least the first 11 thoracic segments are associated with pairs of biramous limbs. The biramous limbs have robust endopods (lower, leg-like branches), and flap-shaped exopods (upper branches). The b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Artiopoda
Artiopoda is a clade of extinct arthropods that includes trilobites and their close relatives. It was erected by Hou and Bergström in 1997 to encompass a wide diversity of arthropods that would traditionally have been assigned to the Trilobitomorpha. Trilobites, in part due to abundance of findings owing to their mineralized exoskeletons, are by far the best recorded, diverse, and long lived members of the clade. Other members, which lack mineralised exoskeletons, are known mostly from Cambrian The Cambrian ( ) is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 51.95 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran period 538.8 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Ordov ... deposits. Description According to Stein and Selden (2012) artiopods are recognised by the possession of filiform antennulae, limbs with bilobate exopods (upper branches), with the proximal (closest to base of the limb) lobe being elong ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squamacula
''Squamacula'' is an extinct artiopodan arthropod from the Cambrian Series 2. The type species ''S. clypeata'' was described in 1997 from the Chengjiang biota of Yunnan, China. At the time of description there were only two known specimens of ''S. clypeata'', but now there are at least six known specimens. In 2012 a second species ''S. buckorum'' was described from the Emu Bay Shale of Australia. Etymology The genus ''Squamacula'' is derived from the Latin word ''squama'', meaning scale, and the diminutive suffix -''culus'', indicating that the animal is relatively small. The species ''clypeata'' is derived from the Latin word ''clypeatus'', meaning shield-shaped. It was named this in reference to its shield-like outline. Description ''Squamacula clypeata'' is flattened (dorsoventrally). It has 11 segments in total: the cephalon (the head), nine thoracic tergites (each of which covers a somite), and one pygidium. It has a doublure, a piece of exoskeleton that covers part of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trilobitomorpha
Artiopoda is a clade of extinct arthropods that includes trilobites and their close relatives. It was erected by Hou and Bergström in 1997 to encompass a wide diversity of arthropods that would traditionally have been assigned to the Trilobitomorpha. Trilobites, in part due to abundance of findings owing to their mineralized exoskeletons, are by far the best recorded, diverse, and long lived members of the clade. Other members, which lack mineralised exoskeletons, are known mostly from Cambrian deposits. Description According to Stein and Selden (2012) artiopods are recognised by the possession of filiform antennulae, limbs with bilobate exopods (upper branches), with the proximal (closest to base of the limb) lobe being elongate and bearing a lamella, while the distal (further from the limb base) lobe is paddle-shaped and setiforous (bearing hair-or bristle like structures). The limb endopod (inner, leg-like branch) has seven podomeres/segments, with first four podomeres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pygmaclypeatus
''Pygmaclypeatus'' is a genus of trilobite-like arthropod from the Cambrian aged Chengjiang biota of southern China. The carapace is flat and broad, and slightly shorter than it is wide, reaching a maximum width of and length of . The headshield makes up about 25% of the total length, and has attached a pair of antennae, as well as a pair of unstalked eyes on the top of the headshield and pair of stalked eyes attached to the underside. The headshield also has four pairs of biramous (two branched) limbs. The trunk has 6 tergites (segments), each associated with a pair of biramous limbs along with a terminal pygidium associated with four pairs of biramous appendages and a segmented short tailspine. The well developed paddle-like exopodites (upper branch) on the trunk and pygidium limbs along with its small size suggests that it was an effective swimmer with a strong power stroke, and that it probably had a nektobenthic mode of life, swimming close to the ocean floor. Given its d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Retifacies
''Retifacies abnormalis'' is an extinct arthropod that lived in the lower Cambrian (about 518 million years ago). Its fossil remains have been found in the Maotianshan Shales of Yunnan, China. It is a member of the Artiopoda, and closely related to ''Pygmaclypeatus''. Description ''Retifacies'' was relatively large sized, reaching a carapace length of , and a total length of , including the extended Antenna (zoology), antennae and tailspine. The head shield was broad and short, and appears to have lacked eyes. The antennae had 17 segments, which telescoped into each other, with spines present on the underside of the antennae at the boundary between the segments. Also present on the head were four closely spaced pairs of appendages, the first three of which were uniramous (single branched), while the last was biramous (two branched). The three uniramous appendages had six segments (podomeres), each ending with a terminal claw, with the endopod (lower leg-like branch) of the fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sidneyia Inexpectans
''Sidneyia'' is an extinct marine arthropod known from fossils found from the Early to the Mid Cambrian of China and the Mid Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia, Canada. Description Sidneyia size comparison.svg, Size comparison of ''Sidneyia'' species Rsos211134f08 d.jpg, Biramous limb of ''Sidneyia inexpectans'' ''Sidneyia inexpectans'' reached lengths of at least . The largest known specimen of ''S. minor'' is around long and wide, while the largest specimen of ''S. malongensis'' is long and wide. The head shield is short, with notches present on the sides to accommodate stalked eyes, with the underside having a hypostome. The head has a pair of segmented antennae, as well as three pairs of post-antenal appendages. This was followed by a thorax, which had eight to ten segments/ tergites, each associated with a pair of biramous (two branched) appendages, this was followed with one to three abdomen segments/tergites, with the body terminating with a telson, which c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sirius Passet
Sirius Passet is a Cambrian Lagerstätte in Peary Land, Greenland. The Sirius Passet Lagerstätte was named after the Slædepatruljen Sirius, Sirius sledge patrol that operates in North Greenland. It comprises six places in Nansen Land, on the east shore of J.P. Koch Fjord in the far north of Greenland. It was discovered in 1984 by A. Higgins of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Geological Survey of Greenland. A preliminary account was published by Simon Conway Morris and others in 1987 and expeditions led by J. S. Peel and Conway Morris have returned to the site several times between 1989 and the present. A field collection of perhaps 10,000 fossil specimens has been amassed. It is a part of the Buen Formation. Age The fauna is inevitably compared to that of the Burgess Shale, although it is probably ten to fifteen million years older – vs. ) – and more closely contemporaneous with the fauna of the Maotianshan shales from Chengjiang, which are dated to . Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pygidium
The pygidium (: pygidia) is the posterior body part or shield of crustaceans and some other arthropods, such as insects and the extinct trilobites. In groups other than insects, it contains the anus and, in females, the ovipositor. It is composed of fused body segments, sometimes with a tail, and separated from thoracic segments by an articulation.Shultz, J.W. (1990). Evolutionary Morphology And Phylogeny of Arachnida. Cladistics 6: 1–38. Chelicerates In arachnids, the pygidium is formed by reduction of the last three opisthosomal segments to rings where there is no distinction between tergites and sternites. A pygidium is present in Palpigradi, Amblypygi, Uropygi, Schizomida, Ricinulei and in the extinct order Trigonotarbida. It is also present in early fossil representatives of horseshoe crabs. Trilobites In trilobites, the pygidium can range from extremely small (much smaller than the head, or cephalon) to larger than the cephalon. They can be smooth, as in order ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emeraldella Brutoni Reconstruction
''Emeraldella'' is a genus of arthropod known from the Middle Cambrian of North America. The type species ''E. brocki'' was described in 1912 from the Burgess Shale. 21 specimens of ''Emeraldella'' are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise < 0.1% of the community. A re-study on the species was done in 2012. A second species ''E. brutoni'' is known from the Wheeler Shale, which was described in 2011. An additional specimen of ''E. brutoni'' was described in 2019, which revealed more of the anatomy. It has been placed as a basal member of the clade Vicissicaudata within Artiopoda, a group of arthropods containing trilobites and their relatives. Description [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
