The Burgess Shale

Mount Stephen: Collins Quarry

Wiwaxia corrugata

3D animation of Wiwaxia corrugata grazing on Morania confluens.

ANIMATION BY PHLESCH BUBBLE © ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Collins Quarry
Phylum: Collins Quarry
Higher Taxonomic assignment: Unranked clade halwaxiids (stem group molluscs)
Species name: Wiwaxia corrugata
Remarks:

The relationship of Wiwaxia is hotly debated; its similarities to the molluscs have been highlighted (Conway Morris, 1985; Scheltema et al., 2003; Caron et al., 2006; Caron et al., 2007), but Matthew’s original view that it was related to the annelid worms (Matthew, 1899) still finds some adherents (Butterfield, 1990; Conway Morris and Peel, 1995; Butterfield, 2006; 2008). It is also possible that Wiwaxia branched off before the molluscs and annelids diverged (Eibye-Jacobsen, 2004). Wiwaxia has recently been placed in a group called the halwaxiids, along with the halkieriids, Orthrozanclus, and Odontogriphus (Conway Morris and Caron, 2007).

Described by: Matthew
Description date: 1899
Etymology:

Wiwaxia – from Wiwaxy Peaks (2,703 m) in Yoho National Park. The word wiwaxy is originally from the Stoney First Nation Nakoda language, meaning “windy.”

corrugata – from the Latin corrugis, “folded, or wrinkled,” in reference to the wrinkled aspect of the sclerites.

Type Specimens: Holotype –ROM8596 in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada.
Other species:

Burgess Shale and vicinity: none.

Other deposits: none described, although sclerites have been reported from a number of Middle Cambrian deposits extending from northern Canada (Butterfield, 1994) to China (Zhao et al., 1994).

Age & Localities:

Age:
Middle Cambrian, Bathyuriscus-Elrathina Zone (approximately 505 million years ago).
Principal localities:

The Walcott and Raymond Quarries on Fossil Ridge. The Trilobite Beds, Tulip Beds (S7) and Collins Quarry on Mount Stephen. Additional smaller localities are known on Mount Field and Mount Odaray.

History of Research:

Brief history of research:

In an early review of fossils collected from the Trilobite Beds on Mount Stephen by Walker, Canadian palaeontologist G. F. Matthew (1899) described several forms he thought represented tubes of various annelid worms, including one he named Orthotheca corrugata. At the time, Matthew did not know this particular fossil was only part of a much larger organism. It was only when Walcott (1911) discovered articulated and much better preserved specimens from the Phyllopod Bed that the morphology of this species became clearer. Walcott placed corrugata in his new genus Wiwaxia and interpreted it as a polychaete annelid worm (Walcott, 1911). The single best specimen of Walker’s “Orthotheca corrugata” remained unrecognized until it was “rediscovered” in the ROM collections in 1977.

Walcott’s interpretation was called into question in a comprehensive reassessment of the genus (Conway Morris, 1985), and Conway Morris’s link between Wiwaxia mouthparts and the molluscan radula was built upon by Scheltema et al. (2003) and Caron et al. (2006). Butterfield (1990), however, defended an annelid affinity mostly based on the study of individual sclerites, first at the crown-, and later at the stem-group level (Butterfield, 2003; 2006), but further work suggested that the evidence does not conclusively support a close relationship with annelids (Eibye-Jacobsen, 2004). A connection with the halkieriids was drawn early on (Bengtson and Morris, 1984; Conway Morris and Peel, 1995), and expanded more recently (Conway Morris and Caron, 2007).

Other studies have dealt more specifically with the ecology and taphonomy of this animal. The finely spaced patterning of ridges on the scale may have given Wiwaxia an iridescent aspect in life (Parker, 1998). Wiwaxia has proven useful in calculating the extent of decay in fossil assemblages (Caron and Jackson, 2006) and in reconstructing the longer term taphonomic processes responsible for the preservation of the Burgess Shale fossils (Butterfield et al., 2007).

Description:

Morphology:

Wiwaxia corrugata is a slug-like organism up to 5.5 cm in length almost entirely covered (except on the ventral surface) with an array of scale-like elements referred to as sclerites and spines. The body is roughly oval, and lacks evidence of segmentation. The body-covering sclerites are arranged in about 50 rows. In addition, two rows of 7–11 blade-like spines are present on the dorsal surface. Spines and sclerites were inserted directly into the body wall. Wiwaxia’s feeding apparatus consists of two (in rare cases three) toothed plates that have been compared to a molluscan radula or annelid jaws.

Abundance:

Wiwaxia is mostly known from the Walcott Quarry where it is relatively common, representing 0.9% of the specimens counted in the community (Caron and Jackson, 2008).

Maximum Size:
55 mm

Ecology:

Life habits: Collins Quarry
Feeding strategies: Collins Quarry
Ecological Interpretations:

The similarity of Wiwaxia’s feeding apparatus to that of Odontogriphus suggests that it too fed on the cyanobacterial Morania mats growing on the Cambrian sea floor. Its sclerite armour-plating and long spines, sometimes found broken, suggest that it was targeted by unidentified predators.

References:

BENGSTON, S. AND S. CONWAY MORRIS, 1984. A comparative study of Lower Cambrian Halkieria and Middle Cambrian Wiwaxia. Lethaia, 17:307-329.

BUTTERFIELD, N. J. 1990. A reassessment of the enigmatic Burgess Shale fossil Wiwaxia corrugata (Matthew) and its relationship to the polychaete Canadia spinosa Walcott. Paleobiology: 287-303.

BUTTERFIELD, N. J. 1994. Burgess Shale-type fossils from a Lower Cambrian shallow-shelf sequence in northwestern Canada. Nature, 369(6480): 477-479.

BUTTERFIELD, N. J. 2003. Exceptional fossil preservation and the Cambrian Explosion. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 43:166-177.

BUTTERFIELD, N. J. 2006. Hooking some stem-group “worms”: fossil lophotrochozoans in the Burgess Shale. BioEssays, 28: 1161-1166.

BUTTERFIELD, N. J. 2008. An early Cambrian radula. Journal of Paleontology, 82(3): 543-554.

CARON, J.-B. AND D. A. JACKSON, 2008. Paleoecology of the Greater Phyllopod Bed community, Burgess Shale. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 258: 222-256.

CARON, J.-B., A. H. SCHELTEMA, C. SCHANDER AND D. RUDKIN, 2006. A soft-bodied mollusc with radula from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. Nature, 442(7099): 159-163.

CARON, J.-B., A. H. SCHELTEMA, C. SCHANDER AND D. RUDKIN. 2007. Reply to Butterfield on stem-group “worms:” fossil lophotrochozoans in the Burgess Shale. BioEssays, 29:200-202.

CONWAY MORRIS, S. 1985. The Middle Cambrian metazoan Wiwaxia corrugata (Matthew) from the Burgess Shale and Ogygopsis Shale Shale, British Columbia, Canada. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 307(1134): 507-582.

CONWAY MORRIS, S. AND J.-B. CARON, 2007. Halwaxiids and the Early Evolution of the Lophotrochozoans. Science, 315(5816): 1255-1258.

CONWAY MORRIS, S. AND J. S. PEEL, 1995. Articulated halkieriids from the Lower Cambrian of North Greenland and their role in early protostome evolution. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 347(1321): 305-358.

EIBYE-JACOBSEN, D. 2004. A reevaluation of Wiwaxia and the polychaetes of the Burgess Shale. Lethaia, 37(3): 317-335.

MATTHEW, G. F. 1899. Studies on Cambrian Faunas, No. 3. Upper Cambrian fauna, Mount Stephen, British Columbia. The trilobites and worms. Transactions of the Royal Society, 5: 39-66.

PARKER, A. R. 1998. Colour in Burgess Shale animals and the effect of light on evolution in the Cambrian. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 265(1400): 967.

SCHELTEMA, A. H., K. KERTH AND A. M. KUZIRIAN, 2003. Original molluscan radula: Comparisons among Aplacophora, Polyplacophora, Gastropoda, and the Cambrian fossil Wiwaxia corrugata. Journal of Morphology, 257(2): 219-245.

WALCOTT, C. D. 1911. Middle Cambrian annelids. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 57(2): 109-144.

ZHAO, Y.-l., Y. QIAN AND X.-S. LI, 1994. Wiwaxia from Early-Middle Cambrian Kaili Formation in Taijiang, Guizhou. Acta Palaeontologica Sinica, 33:359-366.

Other Links:

http://www.paleobiology.si.edu/burgess/wiwaxia.html

Vauxia gracilenta

3D animation of Vauxia bellula and other sponges (Choia ridleyi, Diagoniella cyathiformis, Eiffelia globosa, Hazelia conferta, Pirania muricata, and Wapkia elongata) and Chancelloria eros a sponge-like form covered of star-shaped spines.

ANIMATION BY PHLESCH BUBBLE © ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Collins Quarry
Phylum: Collins Quarry
Higher Taxonomic assignment: Demospongea (Order: Verongida)
Species name: Vauxia gracilenta
Remarks:

Vauxia was placed within the hexactinellids by Walcott in his 1920 original description but Rigby (1980) transferred the genus and family to the Demospongea. Demosponges, the same group that are harvested as bath sponges, represent the largest class of sponges today.

Described by: Walcott
Description date: 1920
Etymology:

Vauxia – from Mount Vaux (3,319 m), a mountain Peak in Yoho National Park, British Columbia. The name refers to William Sandys Wright Vaux (1818-1885) an antiquarian at the British Museum.

gracilenta – from the Latin gracilis, “slender,” referring to the delicate structure of the sponge.

Type Specimens: Lectotypes –USNM66515 (V. gracilenta),USNM66508 (V. bellula),USNM66517 (V. densa),USNM66520 (V. venata), in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA. Holotype –ROM53572 (V. irregulara) in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada.
Other species:

Burgess Shale and vicinity: V. bellula Walcott, 1920; V. densa Walcott, 1920; V. irregulara Rigby and Collins, 2004; V. venata Walcott, 1920.

Other deposits: none.

Age & Localities:

Age:
Middle Cambrian, Bathyuriscus-Elrathina Zone (approximately 505 million years ago).
Principal localities:

Burgess Shale and vicinity: Vauxia species are known in the Walcott, Raymond and Collins Quarries on Fossil Ridge, the Trilobite Beds, Tulip Beds (S7) and the Collins Quarry on Mount Stephen, and smaller sites on Mount Field and Odaray Mountain. Vauxia is also known from Monarch in Kootenay National Park.

Other deposits: V. bellula Walcott, 1920 from the Middle Cambrian Wheeler and Marjum Formations in Utah (Rigby et al., 2010); V. magna Rigby, 1980 from the Middle Cambrian Spence Shale in Utah (Rigby, 1980).

History of Research:

Brief history of research:

This sponge was originally described by Walcott in 1920. The genus was reviewed by Rigby (1980) and the species redescribed by Rigby (1986) and Rigby and Collins (2004) in their examination of the Burgess Shale sponges.

Description:

Morphology:

Specimens of Vauxia gracilenta can range from simple unbranched forms to more complex branching forms and reach up to 8 cm in height. Each branch is deeply conical and almost cylindrical, with a simple open central cavity (spongocoel) ending in a rounded of flat opening (osculum). The skeleton is double layered with a thin dermal layer and an inner layer (endosomal). The dermal layer has small openings (ostia) and is composed of a dense network of ladder-like fibers supported by radial fibers from the inner layer. The inner layer forms a regular reticulated net-like skeleton of fibers with 4-6 sided polygons which is characteristic of the genus and species. The fibrous elements (spongin) represent tough collagen proteins. There is no evidence of siliceous spicules in the skeleton.

The different species have been identified mostly based on variations of the skeletal elements and the shape of the branches. Some species can reach up to at least 15 cm in height (V. bellula, V. densa).

Abundance:

Vauxia is relatively common in the Raymond Quarry and other sites on Mount Stephen but is rare in the Walcott Quarry where it represents less than 0.05% of the community (Caron and Jackson, 2008).

Maximum Size:
80 mm

Ecology:

Life habits: Collins Quarry
Feeding strategies: Collins Quarry
Ecological Interpretations:

Vauxia would have lived attached to the sea floor. Particles of organic matter were extracted from the water as they passed through canals in the sponge’s wall.

References:

CARON, J.-B. AND D. A. JACKSON. 2008. Paleoecology of the Greater Phyllopod Bed community, Burgess Shale. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 258: 222-256.

RIGBY, J. K. 1980. The new Middle Cambrian sponge Vauxia magna from the Spence Shale of Northern Utah and taxonomic position of the Vauxiidae. Journal of Paleontology, 54(1): 234-240.

RIGBY, J. K. 1986. Sponges of the Burgess Shale (Middle Cambrian), British Columbia. Palaeontographica Canadiana, 2: 1-105 p.

RIGBY, J. K. AND D. COLLINS. 2004. Sponges of the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale and Stephen Formations, British Columbia. Royal Ontario Museum Contributions in Science (1): 155 p.

RIGBY, J. K., S. B. CHURCH AND N. K. ANDERSON. 2010. Middle Cambrian Sponges from the Drum Mountains and House Range in Western Utah. Journal of Paleontology, 84: 66-78.

WALCOTT, C. D. 1920. Middle Cambrian Spongiae. Cambrian Geology and Paleontology IV. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 67(6): 261-365.

Other Links:

None

Selkirkia columbia

3D animation of Selkirkia columbia.

ANIMATION BY PHLESCH BUBBLE © ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Collins Quarry
Phylum: Collins Quarry
Higher Taxonomic assignment: Unranked clade (stem group priapulids)
Species name: Selkirkia columbia
Remarks:

Selkirkia has been compared to the nemathelminth worms (Maas et al., 2007), but most analyses support a relationship with the priapulids at a stem-group level (Harvey et al., 2010; Wills, 1998).

Described by: Walcott
Description date: 1911
Etymology:

Selkirkia – from the Selkirk Mountains, a mountain range in southeastern British Columbia.

columbia – from British Columbia, where the Burgess Shale is located.

Type Specimens: Holotype –USNM57624 in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.
Other species:

Burgess Shale and vicinity: none.

Other deposits: The genus Selkirkia ranges from the Lower to the Middle Cambrian and is represented by several species, including S. sinica from the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang Biota (Luo et al., 1999; Maas et al., 2007), S. pennsylvanica from the Lower Cambrian Kinzers Formation (Resser and Howell, 1938), Selkirkia sp. cf. and S. spencei from the Middle Cambrian Spence Shale of Utah (Resser, 1939; Conway Morris and Robison, 1986, 1988), and S. willoughbyi from the Middle Cambrian Marjum Formation of Utah (Conway Morris and Robison, 1986).

Age & Localities:

Age:
Middle Cambrian, Bathyuriscus-Elrathina Zone (approximately 505 million years ago).
Principal localities:

Burgess Shale and vicinity: The Walcott, Raymond and Collins Quarries on Fossil Ridge, and smaller localities on Mount Field and Mount Odaray. The Trilobite Beds, the Collins Quarry, the Tulip Beds (S7) and smaller localities on Mount Stephen.

Other deposits: The Middle Cambrian Spence Shale of Utah (Resser, 1939; Conway Morris and Robison, 1986, 1988).

History of Research:

Brief history of research:

Charles Walcott (1908) illustrated a single specimen of a simple tube that he named “Orthotheca major.” He interpreted the fossil as the tube of a polychaete worm, along with another famous species, “O. corrugata,” described by Matthew a decade earlier. O. corrugata is now referred to as Wiwaxia corrugata, which is not the tube of a worm but the scale of an armoured mollusc! The original specimen of “O. major” came from the Trilobite Beds on Mount Stephen, but it was not until the discovery of complete specimens from Fossil Ridge showing soft-bodied worms within the tubes that more details about this animal became available. Walcott (1911) created a new genus name Selkirkia to accommodate the new fossil material. In addition to the type species, S. major, he named two new species, S. gracilis and S. fragilis. In a revision of Walcott’s collections and other fossils discovered by the Geological Survey of Canada, Conway Morris (1977) synonymised Walcott’s three species into one that he called S. columbia, which is still in use today. S. columbia was described as a primitive priapulid worm (Conway Morris, 1977); later studies showed that it belongs to the priapulid stem group (Wills, 1998; Harvey et al., 2010).

Description:

Morphology:

Selkirkia lived in a tube and could reach up to 6 centimetres in length. The body of the worm itself is similar to most priapulids in having a trunk (which remained in the tube) and an anterior mouthpart that could be inverted into the trunk, called a proboscis. The proboscis has different series of spines along its length and is radially symmetrical. Small body extensions called papillae are present along the anterior part of the trunk and probably helped in anchoring the trunk in the tube. The gut is straight and the anus is terminal. The unmineralized tube is slightly tapered, open at both ends, and bears fine transverse lineations.

Abundance:

Selkirkia is the most abundant priapulid in the Walcott Quarry community, representing 2.7% of the entire community (Caron and Jackson, 2008); thousands of specimens are known, mostly isolated tubes.

Maximum Size:
60 mm

Ecology:

Life habits: Collins Quarry
Feeding strategies: Collins Quarry
Ecological Interpretations:

The well developed proboscis and strong spines suggest a carnivorous feeding habit. Comparisons with modern tube-building priapulids suggest Selkirkia was capable of only limited movement, and spend most of the time buried vertically or at an angle to the sediment-water interface, where they might have “trap fed” on live prey. Empty tubes were often used as a substrate for other organisms to colonize, for example, brachiopods, sponges and primitive echinoderms (see Echmatocrinus).

References:

CARON, J.-B. AND D. A. JACKSON. 2008. Paleoecology of the Greater Phyllopod Bed community, Burgess Shale. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 258: 222-256.

CONWAY MORRIS, S. 1977. Fossil priapulid worms. Special Papers in Palaeontology, 20: 1-95.

CONWAY MORRIS, S. AND R. A. ROBISON. 1986. Middle Cambrian priapulids and other soft-bodied fossils from Utah and Spain. The University of Kansas paleontological contributions, 117: 1-22.

CONWAY MORRIS, S. AND R. A. ROBISON. 1988. More soft-bodied animals and algae from the Middle Cambrian of Utah and British Columbia. University of Kansas Paleontological Contributions, Paper, 122: 23-48.

HARVEY, T. H. P., X. DONG AND P. C. J. DONOGHUE. 2010. Are palaeoscolecids ancestral ecdysozoans? Evolution & Development, 12(2): 177-200.

LUO, H., S. HU, L. CHEN, S. ZHANG AND Y. TAO. 1999. Early Cambrian Chengjiang fauna from Kunming region, China. Yunnan Science and Technology Press, Kunming, 162 p.

MAAS, A., D. HUANG, J. CHEN, D. WALOSZEK AND A. BRAUN. 2007. Maotianshan-Shale nemathelminths – Morphology, biology, and the phylogeny of Nemathelminthes. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 254(1-2): 288-306.

RESSER, C. E. AND B. F. HOWELL. 1938. Lower Cambrian Olenellus Zone of the Appalachians. Geological Society of America, Bulletin, 49: 195-248.

RESSER, C. E. 1939. The Spence Shale and its fauna. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 97(12):1-29.

WALCOTT, C. 1908. Mount Stephen rocks and fossils. Canadian Alpine Journal, 1: 232-248.

WALCOTT, C. 1911. Cambrian Geology and Paleontology II. Middle Cambrian annelids. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 57(5): 109-145.

WILLS, M. A. 1998. Cambrian and Recent disparity: the picture from priapulids. Paleobiology, 24(2): 177-199.

Other Links:

None

Leptomitus lineatus

Leptomitus undulatus (ROM 53571) – Holotype (part and counterpart). Only known specimen of this species showing partial base, prominent ridges and top part (osculum). Specimen height = 78 mm. Specimen wet – direct light. Walcott Quarry.

© Royal Ontario Museum. Photos: Jean-Bernard Caron

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Collins Quarry
Phylum: Collins Quarry
Higher Taxonomic assignment: Demospongea (Order: Monaxonida)
Species name: Leptomitus lineatus
Remarks:

Leptomitus is considered a primitive demosponge (Rigby, 1986). Demosponges, the same group that are harvested as bath sponges, represent the largest class of sponges today.

Described by: Walcott
Description date: 1920
Etymology:

Leptomitus – from the Greek lept, “slender,” and mitos, “thread.” This name refers to the overall shape of the sponge.

lineatus – from the Latin lineatus, “streaked.” This refers to the wrinkle appearance of this sponge.

Type Specimens: Lectotype –USNM66448 (L. lineatus) in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA. Holotype –ROM53558 (L. undulatus) in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada.
Other species:

Burgess Shale and vicinity: L. undulatus Rigby and Collins 2004 from the Walcott Quarry.

Other deposits: L. zitteli Walcott, 1886 from the Middle Cambrian Parker Slate in Vermont; L. metta Rigby, 1983 from the Middle Cambrian Marjum Formation of Utah; L. conicus García-Bellido et al., 2007 from the Middle Cambrian Murero Formation of Spain; L. teretiusculus Chen, Hou and Lu, 1989 from the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang biota in China (see Rigby and Hou, 1995); unidentified species from the Lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation in China (Yang et al., 2003).

Age & Localities:

Age:
Middle Cambrian, Glossopleura Zone to Bathyuriscus-Elrathina Zone (approximately 505 million years ago).
Principal localities:

The Walcott Quarry on Fossil Ridge. The Tulip Beds (S7) and the Collins Quarry on Mount Stephen.

History of Research:

Brief history of research:

Leptomitus was originally described by Charles Walcott (1920) as a new genus “Tuponia” along with several species (T. lineatea, T. flexilis, T. flexilis var. intermedia). This genus was later synonymized by Resser and Howell (1938) with Leptomitus, a genus named by Walcott in 1886. Ribgy (1986) redescribed the Burgess Shale sponges including Leptomitus and considered L. flexilis to be a junior synonym of L. lineatus. Rigby and Collins (2004) added a second species L. undulatus based on new material collected by the Royal Ontario Museum.

Description:

Morphology:

L. lineatus is an elongate tubular sponge with a double-layered skeleton. The outer layer is composed of long monoaxial spicules (simple spicules with pointed ends) arranged vertically along the length of the sponge. The varying thicknesses of these elongate spicules give the sponge a distinctive wrinkly appearance in the fossils. The inner layer is composed of tiny horizontal spicules that form an unclumped thatch; these tufts can be seen at the oscular margin (opening at the top of the sponge). The base of the sponge is rounded in shape and would have had a small holdfast structure. L. undulatus has the same wall structure as L. lineatus but has a rounder goblet shaped skeleton.

Abundance:

L. lineatus is relatively common in the Walcott Quarry and represents 0.26% of the community (Caron and Jackson, 2008). L. undulatus is known from a single specimen.

Maximum Size:
360 mm

Ecology:

Life habits: Collins Quarry
Feeding strategies: Collins Quarry
Ecological Interpretations:

Leptomitus would have lived attached to the sea floor. Particles of organic matter were extracted from the water as they passed through canals in the sponge’s wall.

References:

CARON, J.-B. AND D. A. JACKSON. 2008. Paleoecology of the Greater Phyllopod Bed community, Burgess Shale. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 258: 222-256.

CHEN, J. Y., X. G. HOU AND H. Z. LU. 1989. Lower Cambrian leptomitids (Demospongea), Chengjiang, Yunnan. Acta Palaeontologica Sinica, 28: 17-31.

GARCÍA-BELLIDO, D. C., R. GOZALO, J. B. CHIRIVELLA MARTORELL AND E. LIÑÁN. 2007. The demosponge genus Leptomitus and a new species from the Middle Cambrian of Spain. . Palaeontology, 50: 467-478.

RESSER, C. F. AND B. F. HOWELL. 1938. Lower Cambrian Olenellus Zone of the Appalachians. Geological Society of American Bulletin, 49: 195-248.

RIGBY, J. K. 1983. Sponges of the Middle Cambrian Marjum Limestone from the House Range and Drum Mountains of Western Millard County, Utah. Journal of Paleontology, 57: 240-270.

RIGBY, J. K. 1986. Sponges of the Burgess shale (Middle Cambrian), British Columbia. Palaeontographica Canadiana, 2: 105 p.

RIGBY, J. K. AND D. COLLINS. 2004. Sponges of the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale and Stephen Formations, British Columbia. Royal Ontario Museum Contributions in Science (1): 155 p.

YANG, R., W. ZHANG, L. JIANG AND H. GAO. 2003. Chengjiang biota from the Lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation, Zunyi County, Guizhou Province, China. Acta Palaeontologica Sinica, 77: 145-150.

WALCOTT, C. 1886. Second contribution to the studies on the Cambrian faunas of North America. U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin, 30: 1-369.

WALCOTT, C. D. 1920. Middle Cambrian Spongiae. Cambrian Geology and Paleontology IV. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 67(6): 261-365.

Other Links:

None

Isoxys acutangulus

3D animation of Isoxys carinatus.

Animation by Phlesch Bubble © Royal Ontario Museum

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Collins Quarry
Phylum: Collins Quarry
Higher Taxonomic assignment: Unranked clade (stem group arthropods)
Species name: Isoxys acutangulus
Remarks:

The affinity of Isoxys is uncertain because for a long time it was known only from empty carapaces. Recent descriptions of soft parts show that the frontal appendage is similar to that of some megacheiran, or “great appendage,” taxa such as Leanchoilia, Alalcomenaeus, and Yohoia (Vannier et al., 2009; García-Bellido et al., 2009a). The affinity of Megacheira as a whole is uncertain, but it has been suggested that they either sit within the stem-lineage to the euarthropods (Budd, 2002) or they are stem-lineage chelicerates (Chen et al., 2004; Edgecombe, 2010).

Described by: Walcott
Description date: 1908
Etymology:

Isoxys – from the Greek isos, “equal,” and xystos, “smooth surface”; thus referring to the pair of smooth valves.

acutangulus – from the Latin acutus, “sharp, pointed,” and angulus, “angle”; thus referring to the acute angle of the cardinal spines.

Type Specimens: Type status under review –USNM56521 (I. acutangulus) and Holotype –USNM189170 (I. longissimus) in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.
Other species:

Burgess Shale and vicinity: I. longissimus from Walcott, Raymond and Collins Quarries on Fossil Ridge.

Other deposits: I. chilhoweanus from the Chilhowee Group, Tennessee, USA; I. auritus, I. paradoxus and I. curvirostratus from the Maotianshan Shale of China; I. bispinatus from the Shuijingtuo Formation, Hubei, China; I. wudingensis from the Guanshan fauna of China; I. communis and I. glaessneri from the Emu Bay Shale of Australia; I. volucris from the Buen Formation, Sirius Passet in Greenland; I. carbonelli from the Sierro Morena of Spain, and I. zhurensis from the Profallotaspis jakutensis Zone of Western Siberia. Undescribed species from Canada; Mount Cap Formation in the Mackenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories and the Eager Formation near Cranbrook. Other undescribed species in the Kaili Formation, Guizhou Province, China and the Kinzers Formation, Pennsylvania, USA. See references in Briggs et al., 2008; García-Bellido et al., 2009a,b; Stein et al., 2010; Vannier and Chen, 2000.

Age & Localities:

Age:
Middle Cambrian, Glossopleura to Bathyuriscus-Elrathina Zone (approximately 505 million years ago).
Principal localities:

The Walcott, Raymond and Collins Quarries on Fossil Ridge. Additional localities are known on Mount Field, Mount Stephen – Tulip Beds (S7) and the Trilobite Beds, and near Stanley Glacier.

History of Research:

Brief history of research:

Walcott gave the name Isoxys to specimens from the lower Cambrian Chilhowee Group of Tennessee, USA, in 1890. He then later designated the first species from the Trilobite Beds on Mount Stephen, Anomalocaris? acutangulus (Walcott, 1908), although he placed it erroneously in the genus Anomalocaris. Simonetta and Delle Cave (1975) renamed it Isoxys acutangulus and discovered a second Burgess Shale species, I. longissimus. The original designations were based on carapaces only, making research on the ecology and affinity of Isoxys difficult. Soft parts have recently been described from the Burgess Shale taxa (Vannier et al. 2009, García-Bellido et al. 2009a).

Description:

Morphology:

The most prominent feature of Isoxys is the non-mineralized carapace, which ranged in length from 1 cm to almost 4 cm, and covered most of the body. It was folded to give two equal hemispherical valves, and had pronounced spines at the front and back. A pair of bulbous, spherical eyes protrudes forward and laterally from under the carapace. They are attached to the head by very short stalks. A pair of frontal appendages that are segmented and non-branching (uniramous) is adjacent to the eyes. The flexible appendages are curved with a serrated outline and five segments in total, including a basal part, three segments with stout outgrowths, and a pointed terminal segment.

The trunk of the body has 13 pairs of evenly spaced appendages that are segmented and branch into two (biramous), with slender, unsegmented walking limbs and large, paddle-like flaps fringed with long setae. The telson has a pair of lateral flaps. A cylindrical gut passes from the head to the ventral terminus of the telson, and is lined by paired, lobate gut glands. I. longissimus is distinguished from I. acutangulus by the presence of extremely long spines and an elongated body shape.

Abundance:

Isoxys is known from hundreds of specimens collected on Fossil Ridge. In the Walcott Quarry, Isoxys acutangulus is relatively common and represents about 0.35% of the community whereas Isoxys longissimus is extremely rare (Caron and Jackson, 2008).

Maximum Size:
40 mm

Ecology:

Life habits: Collins Quarry
Feeding strategies: Collins Quarry
Ecological Interpretations:

The streamlined body, thin carapace, and the presence of large paddle-shaped flaps in the appendages all suggest that Isoxys was a free-swimming animal. The spines and wide telson would have been use for steering and stability in the water column. A predatory lifestyle is indicated by the large eyes, frontal appendage, and gut glands. Isoxys would have swum just above the sea floor, seeking out prey in the water column and at the sediment-water interface.

References:

BRIGGS, D. E. G., B. S. LIEBERMAN, J. R. HENDRICK, S. L. HALGEDAHL AND R. D. JARRARD. 2008. Middle Cambrian arthropods from Utah. Journal of Paleontology, 82: 238-254.

BUDD, G. E. 2002. A palaeontological solution to the arthropod head problem. Nature, 417: 271-275.

CARON, J.-B. AND D. A. JACKSON. 2008. Paleoecology of the Greater Phyllopod Bed community, Burgess Shale. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 258: 222-256.

CHEN, J. Y., D. WALOSZEK AND A. MAAS. 2004. A new ‘great-appendage’ arthropod from the Lower Cambrian of China and homology of chelicerate chelicerae and raptorial antero-ventral appendages. Lethaia, 37: 3-20.

EDGECOMBE, G. D. 2010. Arthropod phylogeny: An overview from the perspectives of morphology, molecular data and the fossil record. Arthropod Structure & Development, 39: 74-87.

GARCÍA-BELLIDO, D. C., J. VANNIER AND D. COLLINS. 2009a. Soft-part preservation in two species of the arthropod Isoxys from the middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia, Canada. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 54: 699-712.

GARCÍA-BELLIDO, D. C., J. R. PATERSON, G. D. EDGECOMBE, J. B. JAGO, J. G. GEHLING AND M. S. Y. LEE. 2009b. The bivavled arthropods Isoxys and Tuzoia with soft-part preservation from the lower Cambrian Emu Bay Shale Lagerstätte (Kangaroo Island, Australia). Palaeontology, 52: 1221-1241.

SIMONETTA, A.M. AND L. DELLE CAVE. 1975. The Cambrian non trilobite arthropods from the Burgess Shale of British Columbia. A study of their comparative morphology, taxonomy and evolutionary significance. Palaeontographia Italica, 69: 1-37.

STEIN, M., J. S. PEEL, D. J. SIVETER AND M. WILLIAMS. 2010. Isoxys (Arthropoda) with preserved soft anatomy from the Sirius Passet Lagerstätte, lower Cambrian of North Greenland. 2010. Lethaia, 43: 258-265.

VANNIER, J. AND J.-Y. CHEN. 2000. The Early Cambrian colonization of pelagic niches exemplified by Isoxys (Arthropoda). Lethaia, 35: 107-120.

VANNIER, J., D. C. GARCÍA-BELLIDO, S. X. HU AND A. L. CHEN. 2009. Arthropod visual predators in the early pelagic ecosystem: evidence from the Burgess Shale and Chengjiang biotas. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B, 276: 2567-2574.

WALCOTT, C. D. 1890. The fauna of the Lower Cambrian or Olenellus Zone. Reports of the U.S. Geological Survey, 10: 509-763.

WALCOTT, C. D. 1908. Mount Stephen rocks and fossils. The Canadian Alpine Journal, 1: 232-248.

WILLIAM, M., D. J. SIVETER AND J. S. PEEL. 1996. Isoxys (Arthropoda) from the early Cambrian Sirius Passet Lagerstätte, North Greenland. Journal of Paleontology, 70: 947-954.

Other Links:

None

Ottoia prolifica

3D animation of Ottoia prolifica.

ANIMATION BY PHLESCH BUBBLE © ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Collins Quarry
Phylum: Collins Quarry
Higher Taxonomic assignment: Unranked clade (stem group priapulids)
Species name: Ottoia prolifica
Remarks:

Ottoia has been compared to the nemathelminth worms (Maas et al., 2007), but most analyses support a relationship with the priapulids at a stem-group level (Harvey et al., 2010; Wills, 1998).

Described by: Walcott
Description date: 1911
Etymology:

Ottoia – from Otto Pass (2,106 m), a few kilometres north-west of the Burgess Shale. The pass was named after Otto Klotz, an astronomer working for the Department of the Interior along the Canadian Pacific Railroad (read about Otto Klotz in the section “First Discoveries”)

prolifica – from the Latin proles, “offspring,” and ferax, “rich, fruitful,” in reference to the great number of specimens discovered.

Type Specimens: Lectotype –USNM57619 in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.
Other species:

Burgess Shale and vicinity: none

Other deposits: Ottoia sp. from the Lower Cambrian Pioche Shale, Nevada (Lieberman, 2003).

Age & Localities:

Age:
Middle Cambrian, Bathyuriscus-Elrathina Zone to Ptychagnostus punctuosus Zone (approximately 505 million years ago).
Principal localities:

Burgess Shale and vicinity: The Walcott and Raymond Quarries on Fossil Ridge, the Collins Quarry, the Tulip Beds (S7) and smaller localities on Mount Stephen. Smaller localities on Mount Field, Mount Odaray and Monarch Cirque.

Other deposits: The same species also occurs in the Middle Cambrian Spence Shale and Marjum Formations, Utah (Conway Morris and Robison, 1986).

History of Research:

Brief history of research:

Charles Walcott (1911) first described Ottoia as a tentative member of the now-dismantled grouping of worms called the Gephyrea, which included the priapulids as well as the sipunculans and echiurans. He emphasized a comparison with the sipunculans, leading some subsequent authors to consider it as a member of this phylum; others, however, suggested affinities with the parasitic acanthocephalans, or the priapulids (Banta and Rice, 1970). A re-analysis of the fossil material itself was not conducted until the 1970s, with work by Banta and Rice (1970) and Conway Morris (1977) supporting a relationship with the priapulids, which was later demonstrated to be at a stem-group level (Wills, 1998). Other work has focussed on the ecology of the Burgess Shale representatives (Bruton, 2001; Vannier, 2009; Vannier et al., 2010).

Description:

Morphology:

Ottoia is a priapulid worm with a tooth-lined mouthpart (proboscis) that could be inverted into the trunk; a short posterior tail extension could also be inverted. Ottoia reached 15 cm in length; the smallest specimens – presumably juveniles, but identical to adults – were just 1 cm long. The proboscis was adorned with 28 rows of hooks interspersed with a variety of spines. The worms are usually found curved into a U-shape, with their sediment-filled guts often visible running down the centre of the organism. The trunk was annulated, and bore two sets of four hooks arranged in a ring towards the rear end; these are the only traces of bilateral symmetry, with a radial symmetry superimposed on the organism. Ottoiaperiodically shed its cuticle to allow growth.

Abundance:

Ottoia is one of the more abundant Burgess Shale organisms, accounting for over 80% of the Walcott Quarry priapulids (Conway Morris, 1977) and over 1.3% of the entire Walcott Quarry community (Caron and Jackson, 2008); thousands of specimens are known.

Maximum Size:
150 mm

Ecology:

Life habits: Collins Quarry
Feeding strategies: Collins Quarry
Ecological Interpretations:

Specimens of Haplophrentis carinatus preserved in the gut indicate that this hyolith was a staple of the Ottoia diet (Conway Morris, 1977). One fossil slab also shows nine specimens feeding on a recently-dead Sidneyia carcass (Bruton, 2001).

References:

BANTA, W. C. AND M. E. RICE. 1970. A restudy of the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale fossil worm, Ottoia prolifica. International Symposium on the Biology of the Sipuncula and Echiura 2, Kotor: 79-90.

BRUTON, D. L. 2001. A death assemblage of priapulid worms from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. Lethaia, 34(2):163-167.

CARON, J.-B. AND D. A. JACKSON. 2008. Paleoecology of the Greater Phyllopod Bed community, Burgess Shale. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 258: 222-256.

CONWAY MORRIS, S. 1977. Fossil priapulid worms. Special Papers in Palaeontology, 20: 1-95.

CONWAY MORRIS, S. AND J. S. PEEL. 2009. New Palaeoscolecidan Worms from the Lower Cambrian: Sirius Passet, Latham Shale and Kinzers Shale. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 55(1): 141-156.

HARVEY, T. H. P., X. DONG AND P. C. J. DONOGHUE. 2010. Are palaeoscolecids ancestral ecdysozoans? Evolution & Development, 12(2): 177-200.

MAAS, A., D. HUANG, J. CHEN, D. WALOSZEK AND A. BRAUN. 2007. Maotianshan-Shale nemathelminths – Morphology, biology, and the phylogeny of Nemathelminthes. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 254(1-2): 288-306.

WALCOTT, C. 1911. Cambrian Geology and Paleontology II. Middle Cambrian annelids. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 57(5): 109-145.

Other Links:

http://paleobiology.si.edu/burgess/ottoia.html

Choia carteri

3D animation of Choia ridleyi and other sponges (Diagoniella cyathiformis, Eiffelia globosa, Hazelia conferta, Pirania muricata, Vauxia bellula, and Wapkia elongata) and Chancelloria eros a sponge-like form covered of star-shaped spines.

Animation by Phlesch Bubble © Royal Ontario Museum

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Collins Quarry
Phylum: Collins Quarry
Higher Taxonomic assignment: Demospongea (Order: Monaxonida)
Species name: Choia carteri
Remarks:

Choia belongs to an early branch of siliceous sponge, the protomonaxonids at the base of the Demospongea (Rigby, 1986). Demosponges, the same group that are harvested as bath sponges, represent the largest class of sponges today.

Described by: Walcott
Description date: 1920
Etymology:

Choia – derivation unknown, but probably from the Spanish word cholla referring to spiny cacti of the genus Opuntia which resembles the sponge Choia in shape and spiny elements.

carteri – in honor of H. J. Carter, a famous nineteenth century hexactinellid sponge specialist.

Type Specimens: Lectotypes –USNM66482 (C. carteri),USNM66487 (C. ridleyi), in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA. (C. hindei, type and repository information unknown.)
Other species:

Burgess Shale and vicinity: C. ridleyi (Walcott, 1920) from the Walcott Quarry; C. hindei (Dawson, 1896) from the Raymond Quarry.

Other deposits: C. utahensis (Walcott, 1920) from the Middle Cambrian Wheeler and Marjum Formations in Utah (Rigby et al., 2010); C. xiaolantianensis from the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang biota (Hou et al., 1999), C. sp. from the same formation near Haikou, Yunnan Province (Luo et al., 1999); and C.? sriata from the Lower Cambrian Hetang Formation, Anhui Province (Xiao et al., 2005). Choia is also known from the Ordovician of Morocco (Botting, 2007).

Age & Localities:

Age:
Middle Cambrian, Bathyuriscus-Elrathina Zone to late Middle Cambrian Bolaspidella Assemblage Zone (approximately 505 million years ago).
Principal localities:

Burgess Shale and vicinity: The Walcott and Raymond Quarries on Fossil Ridge. The Collins Quarry and Trilobite Beds on Mount Stephen.

Other deposits: C. hindei (Dawson, 1896) from the Ordovician of Quebec at Little Métis to the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale; C. carteri, C. hindei from the Middle Cambrian Wheeler and Marjum Formations in Utah (Rigby et al., 2010).

History of Research:

Brief history of research:

Choia was first described by Walcott (1920) based on specimens from the Burgess Shale, Utah and Quebec. The material from the Burgess Shale was re-examined in detail by Rigby (1986) and Rigby and Collins (2004).

Description:

Morphology:

Choia carteri consists of a flattened elliptical disc, up to 2 cm in diameter (5 cm including the long spicules), formed by fine radiating spicules from which stronger and long spicules up to 30 mm in length radiate. Other species differ in size and spine coarseness. C. ridleyi is generally smaller (less than 1.5 cm) and C. hindei larger (up to 8 cm).

Abundance:

Choia is not common in the Walcott Quarry where it represents only 0.2% of the Walcott Quarry community (Caron and Jackson, 2008). Only one specimen of C. hindei is known from the Burgess Shale (Rigby and Collins, 2004).

Maximum Size:
50 mm

Ecology:

Life habits: Collins Quarry
Feeding strategies: Collins Quarry
Ecological Interpretations:

The sponge was not anchored to the sediment, but simply sat unattached on the sea floor. The long spicules are interpreted to have maintained the sponge above the sediment-water interface. Particles of organic matter were extracted from the water as they passed through canals in the sponges wall.

References:

BOTTING, J. P. 2007. ‘Cambrian’ demosponges in the Ordovician of Morocco: insights into the early evolutionary history of sponges. Geobios, 40: 737-748.

CARON, J.-B. AND D. A. JACKSON. 2008. Paleoecology of the Greater Phyllopod Bed community, Burgess Shale. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 258: 222-256.

DAWSON, J. W. 1896. Additional notes on fossil sponges and other organic remains from the Québec Group of Little Métis on the lower St. Lawrence; with notes on some of the specimens by Dr. G.J. Hinde. Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, 2: 91-129.

HOU, X., J. BERGSTRÖM, H. WANG, X. FENG AND A. CHEN. 1999. The Chengjiang fauna exceptionally well-preserved animals from 530 million years ago. Yunnan Science and Technology Press, Kunming, 170 p.

LUO, H., S. HU, L. CHEN, S. ZHANG AND Y. TAO. 1999. Early Cambrian Chengjiang fauna from Kunming region, China. Yunnan Science and Technology Press, Kunming, 162 p.

RIGBY, J. K. 1986. Sponges of the Burgess Shale (Middle Cambrian), British Columbia. Palaeontographica Canadiana, 2: 1-105.

RIGBY, J. K. AND D. COLLINS. 2004. Sponges of the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale and Stephen Formations, British Columbia, 1, 155 p.

RIGBY, J. K., S. B. CHURCH AND N. K. ANDERSON. 2010. Middle Cambrian Sponges from the Drum Mountains and House Range in Western Utah. Journal of Paleontology, 84: 66-78.

WALCOTT, C. D. 1920. Middle Cambrian Spongiae. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 67(6): 261-364.

XIAO, S., J. HU, X. YUAN, R. L. PARSLEY AND R. CAO. 2005. Articulated sponges from the Lower Cambrian Hetang Formation in southern Anhui, South China: their age and implications for the early evolution of sponges. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 220: 89-117.

Other Links:

http://paleobiology.si.edu/burgess/choia.html

Bathyuriscus rotundatus

Bathyuriscus rotundatus (USNM 116232b) – Plesiotype. Nearly complete individual with right free cheek in place. Specimen length = 14 mm. Specimen dry – direct light. Trilobite Beds on Mount Stephen.

© Smithsonian Institution – National Museum of Natural History. Photo: Jean-Bernard Caron

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Collins Quarry
Phylum: Collins Quarry
Higher Taxonomic assignment: Trilobita (Order: Corynexochida)
Species name: Bathyuriscus rotundatus
Remarks:

Trilobites are extinct euarthropods, probably stem lineage representatives of the Mandibulata, which includes crustaceans, myriapods, and hexapods (Scholtz and Edgecombe, 2006).

Described by: Rominger
Description date: 1887
Etymology:

Bathyuriscus – a variation of the earlier trilobite genus name Bathyurus, originally based on the Greek bathys, “deep,” and the Greek oura, “tail,” thus, a trilobite with a deep tail.

rotundatus – from the Latin rotundus, “round,” presumably alluding to the rounded outline of the dorsal shield.

Type Specimens: Type status under review – UMMP 4884 (9 specimens), University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Other species:

Burgess Shale and vicinity: Bathyuriscus adaeus Walcott, 1916, from several localities higher in the Bathyuriscus-Elrathina Zone on Mount Stephen, Mount Odaray, and Park Mountain.

Other deposits: other species of Bathyuriscus have been described from numerous localities elsewhere in the Cambrian of North America.

Age & Localities:

Age:
Middle Cambrian, Bathyuriscus–Elrathina Zone (approximately 505 million years ago).
Principal localities:

The Trilobite Beds and other localities on Mount Stephen. Fossil Ridge in sections stratigraphically below the Walcott Quarry.

History of Research:

Brief history of research:

Bathyuriscus rotundatus was first described in the same 1887 publication as several other important Mount Stephen trilobites. Carl Rominger initially used the name Embolimus rotundata for partial specimens of this trilobite, and named a second similar species in his collection Embolimus spinosa (now known as Zacanthoides romingeri). In 1908, Walcott revised Rominger’s original species name to yield the combination Bathyuriscus rotundatus, still in use today (Walcott, 1908). Along with the co-occurring Elrathina cordillerae, B. rotundatus is a signature fossil for the Middle Cambrian Bathyuriscus-Elrathina Zone in the southern Canadian Rockies.

Description:

Morphology:

Hard parts: adult dorsal exoskeletons may be up to 5 cm long and are narrowly oval in outline, with a semicircular cephalon, a thorax of nine segments ending in blade-like tips with short spines, and a semicircular pygidium without spines.

The long glabella reaches almost to the anterior cephalic border; the posterior portion is narrow and parallel-sided, while the anterior third expands rapidly forward. There are four pairs of lateral glabellar furrows, with the two front pairs angled forward and the posterior pair directed obliquely back. The eyes are relatively long and lie close to the glabella. Broad free cheeks are extended back into short genal spines. The pygidium is slightly smaller than the cephalon, with a well-defined narrow axial lobe of five rings and a terminal piece; four pairs of pygidial ribs are usually visible. The exoskeleton is mostly smooth externally, but very well preserved specimens may show faint anastomosing ridges on the free cheeks.

Unmineralized anatomy: not known.

Abundance:

Extremely common in the Mount Stephen Trilobite Beds, where it rivals Ogygopsis klotzi in abundance.

Maximum Size:
50 mm

Ecology:

Life habits: Collins Quarry
Feeding strategies: Collins Quarry
Ecological Interpretations:

Bathyuriscus rotundatus was a mobile epibenthic trilobite. Because we have no direct evidence of limb structure, its feeding habits are uncertain. It may have been a deposit feeder and opportunistic scavenger. Like Ogygopsis, Bathyuriscus may occur as fully intact individuals (probably carcasses), with the free cheeks missing, inverted, or rotated (presumed moults), and as scattered pieces. Some show evidence of healed injuries that may be predation scars (Rudkin, 2009).

References:

RASETTI, F. 1951. Middle Cambrian stratigraphy and faunas of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 116 (5): 1-277.

ROMINGER, C. 1887. Description of primordial fossils from Mount Stephens, N. W. Territory of Canada. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1887: 12-19.

RUDKIN, D. M. 2009. The Mount Stephen Trilobite Beds, pp. 90-102. In J.-B. Caron and D. Rudkin (eds.), A Burgess Shale Primer – History, Geology, and Research Highlights. The Burgess Shale Consortium, Toronto.

SCHOLTZ, G. AND EDGECOMBE, G. D. 2006. The evolution of arthropod heads: reconciling morphological, developmental and palaeontological evidence. Development Genes and Evolution, 216: 395-415.

WALCOTT, C. D. 1888. Cambrian fossils from Mount Stephens, Northwest Territory of Canada. American Journal of Science, series 3: 163-166.

WALCOTT, C. D. 1908. Mount Stephen rocks and fossils. Canadian Alpine Journal, 1: 232-248.

WALCOTT, C. D. 1916. Cambrian Geology and Paleontology III. Cambrian Trilobites. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 64(5): 303-456.

Other Links:

http://www.trilobites.info/ordcorynexochida.htm

Naraoia compacta

Reconstruction of Naraoia compacta.

© MARIANNE COLLINS

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Collins Quarry
Phylum: Collins Quarry
Higher Taxonomic assignment: Unranked clade (stem group arthropods)
Species name: Naraoia compacta
Remarks:

Naraoia is usually compared to the trilobites, but its exact relationships are uncertain (Whittington, 1977). The naraoiids and other trilobite-like arthropods, sometimes referred to as Trilobitoidea, can be grouped together with the trilobites to form the Lamellipedians (Hou and Bergström, 1997; Wills et al. 1998; Edgecombe and Ramsköld, 1999). This group has been variously placed in the upper stem lineage of the arthropods (Budd, 2002), or in the stem lineage of either the mandibulates (Scholtz and Edgecombe, 2006) or the chelicerates (Cotton and Braddy, 2004).

Described by: Walcott
Description date: 1912
Etymology:

Naraoia – from Narao Lakes, near Kicking Horse Pass in Yoho Park, British Columbia. From the Stoney First Nation Nakoda word Narao, meaning “hit in the stomach,” which likely refers to James Hector, who was kicked by a horse while travelling up the Kicking Horse River in 1858.

compacta – from the Latin compactus, “joined together.”

Type Specimens: Lectotype –USNM57687 (N. compacta) and holotypesUSNM83946 (N. spinifer) andUSNM189210 (N. halia) in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.
Other species:

Burgess Shale and vicinity: N. spinifer (Walcott, 1931); N. halia (Simonetta and Delle Cave, 1975) from the Walcott Quarry, Burgess Shale.

Other deposits: N. longicaudata and spinosa (Zhang and Hou, 1985) from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang biota of South China, of which N. longicaudata was later placed in its own genus, Misszhouia (Chen et al., 1997); Possible specimens of Naraoia have been found at the Lower Cambrian Emu Bay Shale in Australia (Nedin, 1999). Unlike most Burgess Shale arthropods, Naraoia has also been found in rocks younger than the Cambrian, in the Late Silurian Bertie Formation of Southern Ontario (Caron et al., 2004).

Age & Localities:

Age:
Middle Cambrian, Bathyuriscus-Elrathina Zone (approximately 505 million years ago).
Principal localities:

The Walcott and Raymond Quarries on Fossil Ridge. The Trilobite Beds on Mt. Stephen, Tulip Beds (S7) and Collins Quarry as well as other smaller localities on Mount Stephen.

History of Research:

Brief history of research:

The first description of Naraoia was N. compacta by Walcott (1912), who later described a second specimen, N. spinifer (1931). Simonetta and Delle Cave (1975) re-examined the specimens and designated the new species N. halia and N. pammon. A major redescription of all Burgess Shale material was undertaken by Whittington (1977), and N. compactaspecimens from the Marjum Formation in Utah and the Gibson Formation in Idaho were described by Robison (1984), both of whom synonymized N. halia and N. pammon with N. compacta. However, a major restudy of the naraoiids by Zhang et al. (2007) concluded that N. halia is actually a valid species.

Description:

Morphology:

Naraoia consists of two dorsal shields with a convex axial region, including a roughly square head shield and an elongated body shield. A pair of long, multi-jointed antennae emerges from beneath the head shield. Behind the antennae are four pairs of cephalic appendages and 14 pairs of trunk appendages. All these appendages are segmented and branch into two (biramous), with a spiny walking limb made up of seven segments, and a filamentous branch consisting of a thin shaft bearing many lamellae (flexible and elongated plate-like elements). The basal segment of the biramous appendage is composed of a large, spiny plate.

Internal structures of Naraoia are well preserved, with the most conspicuous feature being the complexly branched gut glands visible on the cephalic shield. The gut passes along the whole length of the body, with paired gut glands visible in the anterior half.

Abundance:

Hundreds of specimens of Naraoia are known from the Walcott Quarry, where they make up about 0.74% of the community (Caron and Jackson, 2008). Naraoia is rare in all the other known localities.

Maximum Size:
40 mm

Ecology:

Life habits: Collins Quarry
Feeding strategies: Collins Quarry
Ecological Interpretations:

Naraoia likely spent much of its time walking on the sea floor, since the rigidity of its appendages would only allow for limited periods of swimming. It would have sensed its environment, including food items, using its antennae. Naraoia used the segmented walking limbs of its biramous appendages for walking and for manipulating food items, which were crushed and moved towards the mouth using the spiny basal plate. The filamentous branches of the biramous limb were used for gas exchange and to propel the animal through the water during short burst of swimming. The large gut glands and spiny appendages suggest that Naraoia was a predator or scavenger. Specimens with healed injuries suggest that Naraoia was also a prey item for other larger predators.

References:

BUDD, G. E. 2002. A palaeontological solution to the arthropod head problem. Nature, 417: 271-275.

CARON, J.-B. AND D. A. JACKSON. 2008. Paleoecology of the Greater Phyllopod Bed community, Burgess Shale. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 258: 222-256.

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Other Links:

http://paleobiology.si.edu/burgess/naraoia.html

Anomalocaris canadensis

3D animation of Anomalocaris canadensis.

Animation by Phlesch Bubble © Royal Ontario Museum

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Collins Quarry
Phylum: Collins Quarry
Higher Taxonomic assignment: Dinocarida (Order: Radiodonta, stem group arthropods)
Species name: Anomalocaris canadensis
Remarks:

Anomalocaris is an anomalocaridid. Anomalocaridids have been variously regarded as basal stem-lineage euarthropods (e.g., Daley et al., 2009), basal members of the arthropod group Chelicerata (e.g., Chen et al., 2004), and as a sister group to the arthropods (e.g., Hou et al., 2006).

Described by: Whiteaves
Description date: 1892
Etymology:

Anomalocaris – from the Greek anomoios, “unlike,” and the Latin caris, “crab” or “shrimp,” thus, “unlike other shrimp.”

canadensis – from Canada, the country where the Burgess Shale is located.

Type Specimens: Lectotype – GSC3418 in the Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Canada.
Other species:

Burgess Shale and vicinity: none.

Other deposits: A. pennsylvanica from the Early Cambrian Kinzers Formation in Pennsylvania (Resser, 1929); A. saron (Hou et al., 1995) from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang biota; A. briggsi (Nedin, 1995) from the Early Cambrian Emu Bay Shale of Australia.

Age & Localities:

Age:
Middle Cambrian, Bathyuriscus–Elrathina Zone (approximately 505 million years ago).
Principal localities:

The Collins, Raymond and Walcott Quarries on Fossil Ridge. The Trilobite Beds, Tulip Beds (S7) and the Collins Quarry on Mount Stephen. Additional localities on Mount Field, Mount Stephen, near Stanley Glacier and in the Early Cambrian Cranbrook Shale, Eager Formation, British Columbia.

History of Research:

Brief history of research:

Anomalocaris has a complex history of description because parts of its body were described in isolation before it was realized they all belonged to the same animal. The frontal appendage of Anomalocaris was described by Whiteaves (1892) as the body of a shrimp. The mouth parts were described by Walcott (1911) as a jellyfish called Peytoia nathorsti. A full body anomalocaridid specimen was originally described as the sea cucumber Laggania cambria (Walcott, 1911), and re-examined by Conway Morris (1978) who concluded it was a superimposition of the “jellyfish” Peytoia nathorsti on top of a sponge. Henriksen (1928) attached Anomalocaris to the carapace of Tuzoia, but Briggs (1979) suggested instead that it was the appendage of an unknown arthropod, an idea that turned out to be correct.

In the early 1980s, Harry Whittington was preparing an unidentified Burgess Shale fossil from the Geological Survey of Canada by chipping away layers of rock to reveal underlying structures, when he solved the mystery of Anomalocaris‘s identity. Much to his surprise, Whittington uncovered two Anomalocaris “shrimp” attached to the head region of a large body, which also had the “jellyfish” Peytoia as the mouth apparatus. Similar preparations of other fossils from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC revealed the same general morphology, including the Laggania cambria specimen Conway Morris (1978) thought to be the superimposition of the Peytoia jellyfish on a sponge, which was actually a second species of Anomalocaris. Thus, Whittington and Briggs (1985) were able to describe two species: Anomalocaris canadensis, which had a pair of the typical Anomalocaris appendages, and Anomalocaris nathorsti, which has a different type of frontal appendage and includes the original specimen of Laggania cambria. Bergström (1986) re-examined the morphology and affinity of Anomalocaris and suggested it had similarities to the arthropods.

Collecting at the Burgess Shale by the Royal Ontario Museum in the early 1990s led to the discovery of several complete specimens, which Collins (1996) used to reconstruct Anomalocaris canadensis with greater accuracy. This led to a name change of Anomalocaris nathorsti to Laggania cambria. Anomalocaris has since been the subject of many studies discussing its affinity (e.g., Hou et al., 1995; Chen et al., 2004; Daley et al., 2009), ecology (e.g., Rudkin, 1979; Nedin, 1999) and functional morphology (e.g., Usami, 2006).