A palaeoscolecid worm from the Burgess Shale

2015/10/15 by Martin R. Smith · 3 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Marine Biology and Ecology Research #Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research

paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/pala.12210

openalex publication_date 2015/10/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23

Abstract

Abstract 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.

Citations

• The macro‐ and microfossil record of the Cambrian priapulid Ottoia
• The problematic Hadimopanella, Kaimenella, Milaculum and Utahphospha identified as sclerites of Palaeoscolecida

Cited by

• The diverse radiodont fauna from the Marjum Formation of Utah, USA (Cambrian: Drumian)
• The Cambrian cirratuliform Iotuba denotes an early annelid radiation
• Louisella [wikipedia]