Guangweicaris spinatus, Newly-Described Arthropod from Guanshan Fauna

Description: This unusual arthropod is known as Guangweicaris spinatus. The genus was described early this year from some 100 specimens discovered in April 2006, and comes from what has been termed the “Guanshan Fauna”, found in the Wulongqing Formation. The Guanshan Fauna shares many genera with the slightly older Chengjiang Biota, but differs at the species level. With the discovery of the Chengjiang Biota in 1984 a window on the Cambrain Explosion in China was opened.

The diversity of soft-tissue fossils is astonishing: algae, medusiforms, sponges, priapulids, annelid like worms, echinoderms, arthropods (including trilobites), hemichordates, chordates, and the first agnathan fish make up just a small fraction of the total. Numerous problematic forms are known as well, some of which may have represented failed attempts at diversity that did not persist to the present day.

The fauna has only been studied for some 6 years, so more unusual taxa are almost certainly awaiting discovery. The species derives its name from the spines present on the tergites and abdomen. Its precise placement as to Class and Order remain uncertain until such ime as further specimens with preserved soft parts and appendages can be found.