Sarotrocercus
Extinct genus of Cambrian organisms
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sarotrocercus is a small Cambrian arthropod known from Burgess Shale, reaching a centimetre or two in length (0.39–0.79 in).[1] Sarotrocercus is only known from 7 specimens.[2] It may lie in the arthropod crown group, and a recent study has revised some points of its original description.[2]
| Sarotrocercus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| |
| Holotype | |
 | |
| Reconstruction of Sarotrocercus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | incertae sedis |
| Genus: | †Sarotrocercus |
| Species: | †S. oblitus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Sarotrocercus oblitus Whittington, 1981 | |
Morphology
Sarotrocercus had a head shield followed by a trunk of 10 or 11 segments and a telson featuring a series of spines on the end.[2] A pair of big eyes at the end of stalks ventrally emerged from the front of the head.[2] The head bore two pairs of sturdy appendages that are armed with rows of inner spines.[2] At least the anterior 9 trunk segments each possess a pair of appendages, which are only known by lobe-like exopods that are fringed with setae.[2]
Ecology
In the original description, Sarotrocercus had been interpreted as a pelagic, nektonic animal that swam freely on its back, moving perhaps through movements of the trunk appendages and the action of its long tail tuft.[3] This was mainly based on the rarity of the specimens, as the Burgess Shale contains few swimming organisms; the submarine landslides that buried organisms mainly smothered benthic and nektobenthic organisms.[3][4] However, based on the redescription by Haug et al. 2011, Sarotrocercus may had been benthic or at least swimming close to the seafloor, as the robust head appendages rather suggest a grasping or raking function.[2]
External links
- "Sarotrocercus oblita". Burgess Shale Fossil Gallery. Virtual Museum of Canada. 2011. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
