Buccaspinea
Extinct genus of radiodont
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Buccaspinea is an extinct genus of Cambrian hurdiid radiodont from the Marjum Formation, known from frontal appendages and a nearly complete, albeit headless, specimen with a preserved oral cone.[1] Buccaspinea was described in January 2021.
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| Buccaspinea Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
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| Holotype specimen | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Stem group: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | †Dinocaridida |
| Order: | †Radiodonta |
| Family: | †Hurdiidae |
| Genus: | †Buccaspinea Pates et al, 2021 |
| Species: | †B. cooperi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Buccaspinea cooperi Pates et al, 2021 | |
Etymology
Buccaspinea means "thorn mouth", referring to the large hooked spines on its oral cone. The specific name, cooperi honours Jason Cooper, the discoverer of the specimen.[1]
Description
Buccaspinea is roughly 10 cm (4 in) long and has large, long-spined appendages seemingly used for capturing benthic prey, as they are not branched for sifting sediment or filter-feeding. Buccaspinea appears to be closely related to Hurdia and Peytoia, sharing many characters with them, for example a lack of inner teeth, weak posterior tapering and many flap-bearing segments. Unusually, it does not seem to have dorsal flaps, a trait unique to it and a few other hurdiids, such as Cambroraster.[2]
Gallery
A reconstruction of the hurdiid radiodont Buccaspinea cooperi.
Diagram of the oral cone of Buccaspinea cooperi.
Diagram of the frontal appendage of Buccaspinea cooperi.
