Post by Infinity Blade on Apr 12, 2015 8:19:46 GMT 5
Aegirocassis benmoulae
© @ Marianne Collins
Temporal range: Early Ordovician
Scientific classification:
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Unikonta
(unranked): Opisthokonta
(unranked): Holozoa
(unranked): Filozoa
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
(unranked): Bilateria
Clade: Nephrozoa
(unranked): Protostomia
Superphylum: Ecdysozoa
Phylum or Stem-group: Arthropoda
(unranked): Lobopodia
Class: †Dinocaridida
Order: †Radiodonta
Clade: †Anomalocarida
Family: †Hurdiidae
Genus: †Aegirocassis
Species: †A. benmoulae
Aegirocassis benmoulae is an extinct arthropod (particularly an anomalocarid) that lived in Morocco during the early Ordovician. Head appendages were well-preserved in the Aegirocassis specimen and they likewise shed light on the physiology of trunk flaps in anomalocarids. "...Each trunk segment bears a separate dorsal and ventral pair of flaps, with a series of setal blades attached at the base of the dorsal flaps". In regards to the trunk flaps of anomalocarids, it was concluded that "anomalocaridid ventral flaps are homologous with lobopodous walking limbs and the endopod of the euarthropod biramous limb, whereas the dorsal flaps and associated setal blades are homologous with the flaps of gilled lobopodians (for example, Kerygmachela kierkegaardi, Pambdelurion whittingtoni) and exites of the ‘Cambrian biramous limb. This evidence shows that anomalocaridids represent a stage before the fusion of exite and endopod into the ‘Cambrian biramous limb’, confirming their basal placement in the euarthropod stem, rather than in the arthropod crown or with cycloneuralian worms". Aegirocassis' head appendages evolved into a filter-feeding apparatus and its total body length was in excess of 2 meters.[1]
© @ Hyrotrioskjan
Size compared to human.
References:
[1] "Anomalocaridid trunk limb homology revealed by a giant filter-feeder with paired flaps" (Van Roy et al., 2015).
© @ Marianne Collins
Temporal range: Early Ordovician
Scientific classification:
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Unikonta
(unranked): Opisthokonta
(unranked): Holozoa
(unranked): Filozoa
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
(unranked): Bilateria
Clade: Nephrozoa
(unranked): Protostomia
Superphylum: Ecdysozoa
Phylum or Stem-group: Arthropoda
(unranked): Lobopodia
Class: †Dinocaridida
Order: †Radiodonta
Clade: †Anomalocarida
Family: †Hurdiidae
Genus: †Aegirocassis
Species: †A. benmoulae
Aegirocassis benmoulae is an extinct arthropod (particularly an anomalocarid) that lived in Morocco during the early Ordovician. Head appendages were well-preserved in the Aegirocassis specimen and they likewise shed light on the physiology of trunk flaps in anomalocarids. "...Each trunk segment bears a separate dorsal and ventral pair of flaps, with a series of setal blades attached at the base of the dorsal flaps". In regards to the trunk flaps of anomalocarids, it was concluded that "anomalocaridid ventral flaps are homologous with lobopodous walking limbs and the endopod of the euarthropod biramous limb, whereas the dorsal flaps and associated setal blades are homologous with the flaps of gilled lobopodians (for example, Kerygmachela kierkegaardi, Pambdelurion whittingtoni) and exites of the ‘Cambrian biramous limb. This evidence shows that anomalocaridids represent a stage before the fusion of exite and endopod into the ‘Cambrian biramous limb’, confirming their basal placement in the euarthropod stem, rather than in the arthropod crown or with cycloneuralian worms". Aegirocassis' head appendages evolved into a filter-feeding apparatus and its total body length was in excess of 2 meters.[1]
© @ Hyrotrioskjan
Size compared to human.
References:
[1] "Anomalocaridid trunk limb homology revealed by a giant filter-feeder with paired flaps" (Van Roy et al., 2015).
