Article: A new metazoan from the Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia

Hallucigenia sparsa (Walcott) gen. nov. from the Burgess Shale (Middle Cambrian) is redescribed. It is characterized by an elongate trunk supported by seven pairs of long spines. The trunk also bears seven tentacles with bifid tips and a group of short posterior tentacles. A globular head lacks appendages. Despite certain similarities to the polychaetes H. sparsa is not an annelid. Its systematic position, as well as its mode of life, remain problematical.