scholarly journals The stalked filter feeder Siphusauctum lloydguntheri n. sp. from the middle Cambrian (Series 3, Stage 5) Spence Shale of Utah: its biological affinities and taphonomy

2017 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 902-910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Kimmig ◽  
Luke C. Strotz ◽  
Bruce S. Lieberman

AbstractWe describe a new species of enigmatic stalked filter feeder, Siphusauctum lloydguntheri, from the middle Cambrian (Series 3, Stage 5) Antimony Canyon locality of the Spence Shale of northern Utah. The described specimen is the only one known from the Spence Shale, represents the first occurrence of Siphusauctum outside the Burgess Shale, and is only the second described species from the genus. Siphusauctum lloydguntheri n. sp. differs from S. gregarium O’Brien and Caron, 2012 in the shape of its calyx and the position of the digestive tract. The new species provides some additional information about the possible affinities of enigmatic stalked Cambrian filter feeders, as well as the taphonomic pathways that lead to preservation of Siphusauctum.

2015 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Conway Morris ◽  
Paul A. Selden ◽  
Glade Gunther ◽  
Paul G. Jamison ◽  
Richard A. Robison

AbstractCambrian strata of the Laurentian craton contain numerous examples of Burgess Shale–type faunas. Although displaying a more or less concentric distribution around the cratonal margin, most faunal occurrences are in present-day western North America, extending from the Northwest Territories to California. Nevertheless, the soft-bodied and lightly skeletalized fossils in most of these Lagerstätten are highly sporadic. Here, we extend knowledge of such Middle Cambrian occurrences in Utah with reports of four taxa. An arthropod from the Marjum Formation, Dytikosicula desmatae gen. et sp. nov., is a putative megacheiran. It is most similar to Dicranocaris guntherorum, best known from the younger Wheeler Formation, but differs primarily in the arrangement of pleurae and overall size. Along with a specimen of ?Yohoia sp, a new species of Yohoia, Y. utahana sp. nov., is described. It differs from the type and only known species, Y. tenuis, principally in its larger size and shorter exopods; it is the first description of this genus from outside the Burgess Shale. A new species of a stem-group lophotrochozoan from the Spence Shale, Wiwaxia herka sp. nov., possesses a palisade of dorso-lateral spines that are more robust and numerous than the type species of Wiwaxia, W. corrugata. Another notable taxon is Eldonia ludwigi from the Marjum Formation, which is interpreted as a primitive ambulacrarian (assigned to the cambroernids) and a new specimen of the ?cnidarian Cambrorhytium from the Wheeler Shale is illustrated.


2008 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek E. G. Briggs ◽  
Bruce S. Lieberman ◽  
Jonathan R. Hendricks ◽  
Susan L. Halgedahl ◽  
Richard D. Jarrard

The Middle Cambrian Spence Shale Member (Langston Formation) and Wheeler and Marjum Formations of Utah are known to contain a diverse soft-bodied fauna, but important new paleontological material continues to be uncovered from these strata. New specimens of anomalocaridids include the largest and smallest near complete examples yet reported from Utah. New material of stem group arthropods includes two new genera and species of arachnomorphs: Nettapezoura basilika and Dicranocaris guntherorum. Other new arachnomorph material includes a new species of Leanchoilia comparable to L. protogonia Simonetta, 1970; Leanchoilia superlata? Walcott, 1912; Sidneyia Walcott, 1911a; and Mollisonia symmetrica Walcott, 1912. L. protogonia from the Burgess Shale is confirmed as a separate species and is not a composite fossil. The first example of the trilobite Elrathia kingii preserving traces of the appendages is described. In addition, new material of the bivalved arthropods Canadaspis Novozhilov in Orlov, 1960; Branchiocaris Briggs, 1976; Waptia Walcott, 1912; and Isoxys Walcott, 1890 is described.


2013 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 1067-1070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Conway Morris ◽  
John S. Peel

Burgess Shale-type faunas provide unique insights into the Cambrian “explosion”. Their degree of representativeness of Cambrian marine life in general is, however, less easy to establish. One line of evidence is to consider only the skeletal component of a Burgess Shale-type fauna and compare that with a typical Cambrian assemblage. This paper describes a new species of helcionelloid mollusk (Totoralia reticulata n. sp.) from the middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia. Whilst much rarer than the co-occurring smooth shelled helcionelloid Scenella amii, the strongly costate morphology of Totoralia reinforces comparisons with Cambrian shelly faunas. The extension of the range of Totoralia from Argentina to Canada adds support to the proposed derivation of the Precordillera terrane of Mendoza from Laurentia.


2016 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerd Geyer ◽  
John S. Peel

AbstractThe richly fossiliferous Ekspedition Bræ Formation of North Greenland yields a typical oligospecific fossil assemblage with well-preserved trilobites, helcionelloids, and lingulate brachiopods. The trilobites includeItagnostus subhastatusnew species,Itagnostussp. cf.I.gaspensis(Rasetti, 1948),Elrathina aphroditenew species,Elrathina athenanew species,Elrathina heranew species, andElrathia groenlandicanew species—a fossil assemblage typical of theBathyuriscus-ElrathinaZone as known from the Cordilleran regions of Laurentia. Excellent preservation allows a detailed assessment of the prosopon and elucidates aspects of the ontogenetic development ofElrathinaandElrathia. An evaluation ofElrathinaincludes a redescription of its type species,E.cordillerae(Rominger, 1887), based on the type material, and indicates that most specimens collected from the Burgess Shale and previously dealt with asE.cordilleraerepresent a new species.


2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-24
Author(s):  
John S. Peel

Polypleuraspis Poulsen, 1927, originally established on the basis of a single trilobite pygidium from the Cape Wood Formation of Inglefield Land, northwestern Greenland, is redescribed on the basis of material from additional occurrences in the Cape Wood and Telt Bugt formations exposed around Kane Basin in Ellesmere Island (Nunavut) and northern and northwestern Greenland. Polypleuraspis occurs together with Glossopleura Poulsen, 1927 in the Glossopleura walcotti Poulsen, 1927 Biozone of the Delamaran Stage of North American (Laurentian) usage, in middle Cambrian strata (Miaolingian Series) of the Wuliuan Stage. The type species, Polypleuraspis solitaria Poulsen, 1927, is compared with Polypleuraspis insignis Rasetti, 1951 from the Stephen Formation (Burgess Shale Formation) of British Columbia and to a new species from the Telt Bugt Formation of Daugaard-Jensen Land: Polypleuraspis glacialis sp. nov. Polypleuraspis cooperi Robison and Babcock, 2011, from the Spence Shale of Utah of similar age, is assigned to Polypleuraspidella gen. nov.


Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5023 (4) ◽  
pp. 555-570
Author(s):  
THAMARA ZACCA ◽  
MIRNA M. CASAGRANDE ◽  
OLAF H. H. MIELKE ◽  
BLANCA HUERTAS ◽  
ANDRÉ V. L. FREITAS ◽  
...  

A new species of Taydebis Freitas, 2003 from south Brazil is described using comparative morphology and species distributions. Also, based on morphology, we transfer Neonympha melobosis Capronnier, 1874 (formerly placed in Paryphthimoides Forster, 1964) to Taydebis, and recognize Euptychia peculiaris Butler, 1874 as its junior synonym (syn. nov.). Furthermore, the monotypic Prenda Freitas & Mielke, 2011 is herein treated as junior synonym of Taydebis based on morphology, molecular and ecological evidence. Species of Taydebis are endemic and restricted to south Brazil, and now comprises three species: Taydebis guria Zacca, Casagrande & Mielke sp. nov., T. melobosis comb. nov. and T. clarissa Freitas & Mielke comb. nov. To continue clarifying Euptychiina taxonomy, Euptychia undulata Butler, 1867 (also formerly placed in Paryphthimoides) is transferred to Hermeuptychia Forster, 1964, and we provide additional information on its taxonomy, morphology, and distribution. Diagnoses, illustrations, and distributional maps are provided for all taxa except T. clarissa comb. nov.  


Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4590 (4) ◽  
pp. 487
Author(s):  
NANTASAK PINKAEW ◽  
SOPITA MUADSUB

The genus Theorica Diakonoff, 1966 includes two previously described species that occur in Vietnam (i.e., T. secunda Kuznetsov, 1997) and New Guinea (i.e., T. lamyra (Meyrick, 1911)). We report the first occurrence of this genus in Thailand, represented by a new species: Theorica valuliae Pinkaew, n. sp. In addition to illustrations of the adult and genitalia, we also present photographs of living specimens in their natural resting posture.


2013 ◽  
Vol 151 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHUN LI ◽  
DA-YONG JIANG ◽  
LONG CHENG ◽  
XIAO-CHUN WU ◽  
OLIVIER RIEPPEL

AbstractLargocephalosaurus polycarpon Cheng et al. 2012a was erected after the study of the skull and some parts of a skeleton and considered to be an eosauropterygian. Here we describe a new species of the genus, Largocephalosaurus qianensis, based on three specimens. The new species provides many anatomical details which were described only briefly or not at all in the type species, and clearly indicates that Largocephalosaurus is a saurosphargid. It differs from the type species mainly in having three premaxillary teeth, a very short retroarticular process, a large pineal foramen, two sacral vertebrae, and elongated small granular osteoderms mixed with some large ones along the lateral most side of the body. With additional information from the new species, we revise the diagnosis and the phylogenetic relationships of Largocephalosaurus and clarify a set of diagnostic features for the Saurosphargidae Li et al. 2011. Largocephalosaurus is characterized primarily by an oval supratemporal fenestra, an elongate dorsal ‘rib-basket’, a narrow and elongate transverse process of the dorsal vertebrae, and the lack of a complete dorsal carapace of osteoderms. The Saurosphargidae is distinct mainly in having a retracted external naris, a jugal–squamosal contact, a large supratemporal extensively contacting the quadrate shaft, a leaf-like tooth crown with convex labial surface and concave lingual surface, a closed dorsal ‘rib-basket’, many dorsal osteoderms, a large boomerang-like or atypical T-shaped interclavicle. Current evidence suggests that the Saurosphargidae is the sister-group of the Sauropterygia and that Largocephalosaurus is the sister-group of the Saurosphargis–Sinosaurosphargis clade within the family.


2018 ◽  
Vol 92 (6) ◽  
pp. 955-971 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Zhao ◽  
Guo-Biao Li ◽  
Paul A. Selden

AbstractA large number of well-preserved chancelloriid scleritomes from the Guanshan biota, early Cambrian of Yunnan, China, are described as a new species,Allonnia tenuisn. sp., and provide solid evidence for the original appearance of these enigmatic animals, based on specimens compacted laterally and top-down. With the assistance of a flexible integument, chancelloriids, especiallyAllonniafrom early and middle Cambrian, may have had the ability to partially or completely expand and contract the body, which might have played an important role in feeding. A new metazoan with single-element spines,Nidelric gaoloufangensisn. sp., is also described. Preservation and affinity are discussed. Detailed comparison of the morphology of the body and spines of this metazoan indicate that it shares many similarities with chancelloriids, of which it may be an unusual form.UUID:http://zoobank.org/2708d95a-1fae-46fc-afea-9707ae97a4d7


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