Cambroraster
Cambroraster is an extinct stem-group arthropod, dating to the middle Cambrian, and represented by the single 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 had a horseshoe-shaped carapace, and presumably fed by sifting through the sediment with its round mouth lined with hooked spines. It is named partially after the fictional Millennium Falcon, which its dorsal carapace resembles.[3][4] 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]
Cambroraster | |
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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 |
Species: | †C. falcatus |
Binomial name | |
†Cambroraster falcatus Moysiuk & Caron, 2019 | |
References
- 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.
- Wu, Katherine J. (30 July 2019). "Meet Cambroraster falcatus, the sediment-sifting 'Roomba' of the Cambrian". Nova. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
- "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.
- "Scientists name new fossil species after Millennium Falcon from Star Wars". Ars Technica. 3 August 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
- 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.