58
6
November
973
979
10.1111/pala.12210
SMITH, M.R. 2015. A palaeoscolecid worm from the Burgess Shale. Palaeontology, 58, 6, 973-979. DOI: 10.1111/pala.12210
Martin R. Smith- Martin R. Smith - University of Cambridge Department of Earth Sciences Cambridge UK (Email: ms609@cam.ac.uk)
- Issue published online: 27 October 2015
- Article first published online: 01 January 1970
- Manuscript Accepted: 11 September 2015
- Manuscript Received: 06 July 2015
Palaeoscolecid worms are a ubiquitous group of Early Palaeozoic ecdysozoans that are curiously lacking in the archetypal Cambrian Lagerstätten, the Burgess Shale. Here I describe Scathascolex minor gen. et sp. nov, the first unequivocal palaeoscolecid from this site. Scathascolex is armoured with simple Hadimopanella‐like plates, but lacks smaller platelets, pointing to a close affinity with the Palaeoscolecida sensu stricto. Neither preservational nor environmental factors account for the scarcity of palaeoscolecids in the Burgess Shale, which presumably represents an ecological phenomenon.
Data for this study are available in the Dryad Digital Repository http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.cf493 Wiley Online Library (Free Access)