Digitala Vetenskapliga Arkivet

Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Morphology and systematics of the anomalocaridid arthropod Hurdia from the Middle Cambrian of British Columbia and Utah
Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, Department of Earth Sciences, Palaeobiology. (Palaeobiology)
Uppsala University, Disciplinary Domain of Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, Department of Earth Sciences, Palaeobiology.
2013 (English)In: Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, ISSN 1477-2019, E-ISSN 1478-0941, Vol. 11, no 7, p. 743-787Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

In Cambrian fossil Lagerstätten like the Burgess Shale, exceptionally preserved arthropods constitute a large part of the taxonomic diversity, providing opportunities to study the early evolution of this phylum in detail. The anomalocaridids, large presumed pelagic predators, are particularly relevant owing to their unique combination of morphological characters and basal position in the arthropod stem lineage. Although isolated elements and fragmented specimens were first discovered over 100 years ago, subsequent findings of more complete bodies ofAnomalocaris and Peytoia, especially in the 1980s, allowed for a better understanding of these enigmatic forms. Their evolutionary significance as stem group arthropods was further clarified by the recent discovery of a third anomalocaridid taxon, Hurdia. Here, examination of hundreds ofHurdia specimens from different stratigraphical layers within the Burgess Shale and Stephen Formation, combined with statistical analyses, provides a detailed description of the taphonomy, morphology and diversity of the genus and further elucidates anomalocaridid systematics. Hurdiais distinguished from other anomalocaridids in having mouthparts with extra rows of teeth, a large frontal carapace complex and diminutive swimming flaps with prominent setal structures. The two original species, H. victoria Walcott, 1912 and H. triangulata Walcott, 1912, are confirmed based on morphometric outline analyses of the frontal carapace components combined with stratigraphical evidence; a third species, Hurdia dentata Simonetta & Delle Cave, 1975, is synonymized with H. victoria. Morphology, preservation and stratigraphical distribution suggest that H. victoria and H. triangulata share the same type of frontal appendage; a second type of appendage, previously assigned to Hurdia (Morph A), belongs to Peytoia nathorsti. These and other morphological differences between the anomalocaridids may reflect different feeding strategies. Appendages and mouthparts of Hurdia indet. sp. are also identified from the Spence Shale Member of Utah, making Hurdia and Anomalocaris the most common and globally distributed anomalocaridid taxa.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2013. Vol. 11, no 7, p. 743-787
Keywords [en]
Cambrian, Burgess Shale, Radiodonta, arthropods, multivariate statistics, taxonomy
National Category
Geology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-114195DOI: 10.1080/14772019.2012.732723ISI: 000326860800001OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-114195DiVA, id: diva2:293435
Available from: 2010-02-11 Created: 2010-02-11 Last updated: 2017-12-12Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. The morphology and evolutionary significance of the anomalocaridids
Open this publication in new window or tab >>The morphology and evolutionary significance of the anomalocaridids
2010 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Approximately 600 to 500 million years ago, a major evolutionary radiation called the “Cambrian Explosion” gave rise to nearly all of the major animal phyla known today. This radiation is recorded by various fossil lagerstätten, such as the Burgess Shale in Canada, where soft-bodied animals are preserved in exquisite detail. Many Cambrian fossils are enigmatic forms that are morphologically dissimilar to their modern descendants, but which still provide valuable information when interpreted as stem-group taxa because they record the actual progression of evolution and give insight into the order of character acquisitions and homologies between living taxa. One such group of fossils is the anomalocaridids, large presumed predators that have had a complicated history of description. Their body has a trunk with a series of lateral lobes and associated gills, and a cephalic region with a pair of large frontal appendages, a circular mouth apparatus, stalked eyes and a cephalic carapace. Originally, two taxa were described from the Burgess Shale, Anomalocaris and Laggania, however data presented herein suggests that the diversity of the anomalocaridids was much higher. Newly collected fossil material revealed that a third Burgess Shale anomalocaridid, Hurdia, is known from whole-body specimens and study of its morphology has helped to clarify the morphology and systematics of the whole group. Hurdia is distinguished by having mouthparts with extra rows of teeth, a unique frontal appendage, and a large frontal carapace. Two species, Hurdia victoria and Hurdia triangulata were distinguished based on morphometric shape analysis of the frontal carapace. A phylogenetic analysis placed the anomalocaridids in the stem lineage to the euarthropods, and examination of Hurdia’s well-preserved gills confirm the homology of this structure with the outer branches of limbs in upper stem-group arthropods. This homology supports the theory that the Cambrian biramous limb formed by the fusion of a uniramous walking limb with a lateral lobe structure bearing gill blades. In this context, new evidence is present on the closely allied taxon Opabinia, suggesting that it had lobopod walking limbs and a lateral lobe structure with attached Hurdia-like gills. The diversity of the anomalocaridids at the Burgess Shale is further increased by two additional taxa known from isolated frontal appendages. Amplectobelua stephenensis is the first occurrence of this genus outside of the Chengjiang fauna in China, but Caryosyntrips serratus is an appendage unique to the Burgess Shale. To gain a better understanding of global distribution, a possible anomalocaridid is also described from the Sirius Passet biota in North Greenland. Tamisiocaris borealis is known from a single appendage, which is similar to Anomalocaris but unsegmented, suggesting this taxon belongs to the arthropod stem-lineage, perhaps in the anomalocaridid clade. Thus, the anomalocaridids are a widely distributed and highly diverse group of large Cambrian presumed predators, which provide important information relevant to the evolution of the arthropods.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 2010. p. 40
Series
Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology, ISSN 1651-6214 ; 714
Keywords
anomalocaridids, Cambrian, Burgess Shale, exceptional preservation, palaeontology
National Category
Geology
Research subject
Historical Geology and Paleontology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-114102 (URN)978-91-554-7723-3 (ISBN)
Public defence
2010-03-26, Hambergsalen, Villavägen 16, Institutionen för geovetenskaper, 10:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Note

Arkivexemplar i Uppsala universitets arkiv

Available from: 2010-03-03 Created: 2010-02-10 Last updated: 2022-05-16Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full text

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Budd, Graham E.
By organisation
Palaeobiology
In the same journal
Journal of Systematic Palaeontology
Geology

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
urn-nbn
Total: 525 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf