High Quality Clypecaris Chengjiang Arthropod Fossil

This unusual arthropod is known as Clypecaris pteroidea The species is known mostly from the thin-shelled carapace. This one is quite exceptional in that the abdomen and telson are also preserved, along with the gut trace in 3-D. 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 systematic position of this taxon has undergone several revisions. It was established as the sole member of the Family Clypercarididae, and was originally known from only one specimen. Those from Chengjiang have often been called Ercaicunia multinodosa, but some scientists believe that to be a junior synonym of Clypecaris while others place Clypecaris as a separate genus. It differs from the more common genus Waptia in having a higher number of body segments. Whatever the exact status of this taxon, this is a most exceptional example.

Also see: Chengjiang Biota Fauna List Chengjiang Fossils