Scolecofurca
| Scolecofurca rara Temporal range: 505Ma Burgess Shale |
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Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Unranked superphylum: | Scalidophora |
| Stem-group: | Priapulida |
| Genus: | †Scolecofurca |
| Species: | † S. rara |
| Binomial name | |
| Scolecofurca rara Conway Morris, 1977[1] |
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Scolecofurca is a genus of stem-group priapulid worm[2] dating from the Middle Cambrian period approximately 505 million years ago.
It is known from a single fossil specimen from the Raymond Quarry in the Burgess Shale in the Canadian Rockies.[1]
The only known species in the species Scolecofurca rara was first described by Conway Morris in 1977 as a possible primitive priapulid, but later shown to belong to the priapulid stem group.[3] Its name is derived from the Greek skolex (worm) and the Latin furca (fork) and rara (infrequent).[3]
Morphology
Scolecofura's single fossil specimen is 6.5 centimeters in length. The fossil displays a proboscis of constant width, with two 3 millimeter tentacles at the anterior. The tentacles most likely would have functioned for sensory purposes rather than for feeding. The trunk of the organism is lined with annulations separated by 7 millimeters. The specimen is incomplete, and the posterior features of the animal are currently unknown.[1]
External links
- "Scolecofurca rara". Burgess Shale Fossil Gallery. Virtual Museum of Canada. 2011.
References
- ^ a b c Conway Morris, S (1977). "Fossil priapulid worms". Special papers in Palaeontology 20.
- ^ Harvey, T. H.; Dong, X.; Donoghue, P. C. (2010). "Are palaeoscolecids ancestral ecdysozoans?". Evolution & Development 12 (2): 177–200. doi:10.1111/j.1525-142X.2010.00403.x. PMID 20433458.
- ^ a b "Scolecofurca rara A worm with a fork-like front end". Royal Ontario Museum. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
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