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Anomalocaris ✝
| Description | Anomalocaris ("unlike other shrimp", or "abnormal shrimp") is an extinct genus of radiodont (anomalocaridid), an order of animals thought to be closely related to ancestral arthropods. The first fossils of Anomalocaris were discovered in the Ogygopsis Shale by Joseph Frederick Whiteaves, with more examples found by Charles Doolittle Walcott in the Burgess Shale. Originally several fossilized parts discovered separately (the mouth, frontal appendages and trunk) were thought to be three separate creatures, a misapprehension corrected by Harry B. Whittington and Derek Briggs in a 1985 journal article. Anomalocaris is thought to be one of the earliest examples of an apex predator, though others have been found in older Cambrian lagerstätten deposits. From Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anomalocaris, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source Data |
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| Rank | genus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (GBIF) | Life : Animalia : Arthropoda : Anomalocarididae : Anomalocaris | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (PBDB) | Life : Animalia : Arthropoda : Radiodonta : Anomalocarididae : Anomalocaris | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification (PBDB,GBIF) |
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| Scientific Name | Anomalocaris Whiteaves, 1892 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Name Published In | Canad. Rec. Sci., 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opinions (PBDB) |
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| Status (PBDB) | extinct | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxon Size (PBDB) | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Recorded Appearance | 530 - 516 Ma Cambrian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Recorded Appearance | 513 - 499 Ma Cambrian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motility | actively mobile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diet | carnivore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ecospace Comments | Pelagic, fully motile fast, predator (Bambach et al., 2007). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taphonomy | low Mg calcite (based on Radiodonta) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary Reference (PBDB) | J. J. Sepkoski, Jr. 2002. A compendium of fossil marine animal genera. Bulletins of American Paleontology 363:1-560 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anomalocaris |
Fossil Distribution
Subtaxa
| Name | Status | Common Name(s) | Fossil Occurrences | Oldest | Youngest |
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| Anomalocaris acutangulus species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Anomalocaris cranbrookensis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Anomalocaris gigantea species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Anomalocaris lineata species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Anomalocaris nathorsti ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 3 | 513 Ma Cambrian | 513 Ma Cambrian | |
| Anomalocaris pennsylvanica species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Anomalocaris saron ✝ species | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 15 | 520 Ma Cambrian | 516 Ma Cambrian | |
| Anomalocaris whiteavesi species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
Obsolete Names
| Name | Source | Taxon Rank | Taxonomy |
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| Anomolocaris Whiteaves, 1892 | GBIF | genus | Animalia : Arthropoda : Anomalocarididae : Anomolocaris |
| Anomalocaris Vogdes, 1917 | GBIF | genus | Animalia : Arthropoda : Anomalocarididae : Anomalocaris |
Synonymy List
| Year | Name and Author |
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| 2002 | Anomalocaris Sepkoski, Jr. |
| 2007 | Anomalocaris Bambach et al. |
| 2008 | Anomalocaris Briggs et al. p. 240 |
References
Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!
Yunnan, China