Musacaris
Extinct Cambrian arthropod
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Musacaris is an extinct genus of Cambrian arthropod from the Orsten Lagerstätte, formerly synonymous with Martinssonia. It contains only a single species, Musacaris gerdgeyeri.
| Musacaris Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Genus: | †Musacaris Haug et al, 2010 |
| Species: | †M. gerdgeyeri |
| Binomial name | |
| †Musacaris gerdgeyeri Haug et al, 2010 | |
Description
Musacaris is a small (roughly 0.8 mm long), unsegmented arthropod, with four pairs of appendages. It has a pair of antennae, and three pairs of biramous appendages.[1] It also has an unusual projection on its head, possibly the future position of the mouth. The unsegmented body suggests all current specimens of Musacaris may be so-called "head larvae". The five developmental stages are quite similar, with the same amount and positioning of the limbs. Currently, Musacaris is thought to be a basal mandibulate or stem-crustacean, possibly sister to labrophorans (Crustacea and Phosphatocopina).
