Orthrozanclus
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Extinct (fossil)
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| Orthrozanclus reburrus Morris & Caron, 2007 |
Orthrozanclus reburrus ("Dawn scythe with bristling hair") is a prehistoric sea creature about one centimeter long that had long spikes protruding from its armored body. Its fossils are dated back 505 million years ago to the Cambrian Period.[1]
The describers of this fossil animal, Simon Conway Morris and Jean-Bernard Caron, say Orthrozanclus may have formed a link between the halkieriid and the wiwaxiid families,[2] uniting them tentatively in a group called "Halwaxiida", characterized by a similar type of body armor; these organisms might have been related to modern-day molluscs, or could be linked to the molluscs, annelids and brachiopods.[3]
[edit] References and further reading
- ^ Spiky oddball prowled ocean half billion years ago. Yahoo UK & Ireland News
- ^ Simon Conway Morris and Jean-Bernard Caron. Halwaxiids and the Early Evolution of the Lophotrochozoans. Science 2 March 2007: Vol. 315. no. 5816, pp. 1255 - 1258
- ^ New fossil unites three branches of life in the Cambrian. Ars Technica
[edit] See also
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