Chengjiang Biota Arthropod with Antennae Preserved

Cf Chengjiangocaris longiformis

Phylum Arthropoda

Geological Time: Early Cambrian (~525 million years ago)

Size (25.4 mm = 1 inch): Fossil is 15 mm long overall including 5 mm antennae on a 55 mm by 35 mm matrix.

Fossil Site: Chengjiang Maotianshan Shales - Quiongzhusi Section, Yu’anshan Member, Heilinpu Formation, Mafang Village, Anning, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China

Fossils Code: CJF1269

Price: $395.00 - sold


Chengjiangocaris longiformisDescription: With the discovery of the Chengjiang Biota by Hou Xian-guang in 1984, a window on a new view of what has been termed the Cambrian Explosion 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 Chengjiangocarisagnathan 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.

This unusual specimen is most likely Chengjiangocaris, a taxon known from only a handful of specimens. It is the only genus and species in the Family Chegjiangocaridae, and is known only form the Chengjiang Biota. While most are preserved laterally, this is a much less common dorsal example. The most unu8sual features are the long preserved antennae, the first such example I have had. I have included an artist’s rendering of the specimen as it is thought to have appeared in life.

Fossil Purchase

click fossil images to enlarge


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