Cambroraster

Cambroraster is an extinct genus of hurdiid radiodont, dating to the middle Cambrian, and represented by the single formally described species Cambroraster falcatus.[1] Hundreds of specimens were found in the Burgess Shale, and described in 2019.[2] A large animal (for its era) at up to 30 cm long, it is characterized by a significantly enlarged horseshoe-shaped dorsal carapace (H-element), and presumably fed by sifting through the sediment with its well-developed tooth plates (oral cone) and short frontal appendages with hooked spines.[1] It is named partially after the fictional Millennium Falcon, which its dorsal carapace resembles.[1][3][4]

Cambroraster
Temporal range: Mid Cambrian: Chengjiang–Burgess shale
A reconstruction of a group of Cambroraster, swimming over a brine seep.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Dinocaridida
Order: Radiodonta
Family: Hurdiidae
Genus: Cambroraster
Moysiuk & Caron, 2019
Type species
Cambroraster falcatus
Moysiuk & Caron, 2019
Species
  • Cambroraster falcatus Moysiuk & Caron, 2019
Reconstruction of the head region of Cambroraster falcatus. A: Dorsal view, B: Ventral view, Ey: Eye, Fa: Frontal appendage, He:H-element, Bp: Bilobate posterior region, Lp: Posterolateral process, Oc: Oral cone, Pe: P-element, Pn: P-element neck

A second species of Cambroraster is known from the Chengjiang Biota of South China, making it the first uncontroversial hurdiid from the Cambrian of China. This species is known only from a juvenile dorsal carapace, so it was not given a specific name.[5]

References

  1. Moysiuk, J.; Caron, J.-B. (31 July 2019). "A new hurdiid radiodont from the Burgess Shale evinces the exploitation of Cambrian infaunal food sources". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 286 (1908): 20191079. doi:10.1098/rspb.2019.1079.
  2. Wu, Katherine J. (30 July 2019). "Meet Cambroraster falcatus, the sediment-sifting 'Roomba' of the Cambrian". Nova. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  3. "A voracious Cambrian predator, Cambroraster, is a new species from the Burgess Shale". Phys.org. Royal Ontario Museum. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  4. "Scientists name new fossil species after Millennium Falcon from Star Wars". Ars Technica. 3 August 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  5. Liu, Yu; Lerosey-Aubril, Rudy; Audo, Denis; Zhai, Dayou; Mai, Huijuan; Ortega-Hernández, Javier. "Occurrence of the eudemersal radiodont Cambroraster in the early Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstätte and the diversity of hurdiid ecomorphotypes". Geological Magazine: 1–7. doi:10.1017/S0016756820000187. ISSN 0016-7568.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.