Museum Quality Selkirkia willoughbyi from Cambrian Utah

Description: This specimen shows a priapulid of the genus Slekirkia which is undoubtedly the best-preserved I have come across in some time. Notice evidence of both the gut trace and the everted proboscis. The priapulids are a group of non-segmented worms whose modern-day examples can reach 30 cm in length, and live in both shallow and deep marine sands as carnivores. The terminal mouth bears cone-shaped projections called scalids by which the worm would snare its prey. Their tube presumably was held nearly vertically in the substrate with just the tip protruding into the water column.