Capinatator

Capinatator praetermissus is an extinct arrow worm from the Burgess Shale Lagerstatte, living about 508 million years ago in what is now British Columbia.[2] It has the distinction of having 50 spines around its mouth. As with modern arrow worms, the spines were used to grasp prey for consumption. C. praetermissus is thought to represent a stage of chaetognathan evolution before arrow worms became planktonic swimmers.[2]

Capinatator
Temporal range: Miaolingian
C. praetermissus compared to Amiskwia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chaetognatha
Genus: Capinatator
Species:
C. praetermissus
Binomial name
Capinatator praetermissus
Briggs and Caron, 2017[1]

The worm was 10 cm long. The spines were curved and around 1 cm long.[2]

The generic name "Capinatator" means "grasping swimmer".[2]

References

  1. Briggs, Derek E.G; Caron, Jean-Bernard (2017). "A Large Cambrian Chaetognath with Supernumerary Grasping Spines". Current Biology. 27 (16): 2536–2543.e1. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.07.003. PMID 28781052.
  2. Borenstein, Seth (3 August 2017). "Scientists ID tiny prehistoric sea worm with 50 head spines". phys.org. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
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