| Echmatocrinus Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Echmatocrinus brachiatus | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | incertae sedis |
| Genus: | †Echmatocrinus |
| Species: | †E. brachiatus
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Echmatocrinus brachiatus Sprinkle 1973
| |
Echmatocrinus brachiatus is an extinct species of Cambrian animal which resembles a crinoid or an octocoral. Its exact taxonomy is still a subject of debate. It is known only from the Burgess Shale.1 Around 20 specimens of Echmatocrinus are known; these comprise <0.02% of the community.23
The creature resembled an inverted cone, with a crown of seven to ten tentacles.3 Each tentacle was covered with small extensions. The cone itself was covered with irregularly arranged mineralised plates,1 whose texture recalls that of the Burgess Shale echinoderm Walcottidiscus. The organisms lived a solitary lifestyle, although juveniles are sometimes attached to (or budding from) adults.1
References
References
- Babcock, L. E.; Ausich, W. I. (2000). "Echmatocrinus, a Burgess Shale animal reconsidered". Lethaia. 33 (2): 92–95. Bibcode:2000Letha..33...92A. doi:10.1080/00241160050150221.
- Caron, Jean-Bernard; Jackson, Donald A. (October 2006). "Taphonomy of the Greater Phyllopod Bed community, Burgess Shale". PALAIOS. 21 (5): 451–65. Bibcode:2006Palai..21..451C. doi:10.2110/palo.2003.P05-070R. JSTOR 20173022. S2CID 53646959.
- Sprinkle, James; Collins, Desmond (29 March 2007). "Revision of Echmatocrinus from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia". Lethaia. 31 (4): 269–282. doi:10.1111/j.1502-3931.1998.tb00517.x.
External links
External links
- "Echmatocrinus brachiatus". Burgess Shale Fossil Gallery. Virtual Museum of Canada. 2011. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
Further reading
Further reading
Ausich, W. I. 1998a. Early phylogeny and subclass division of the Crinoidea (phylum Echinodermata). Journal of Paleontology 72 (3): 499–510.
Ausich, W. I. 1998b. Origin of the Crinoidea. In Echinoderms: San Francisco (R. Mooi & M. Telford, eds.) pp. 127–132. A. A. Balkema: Rotterdam.
Ausich, W. I. 1999. Origin of crinoids. In Echinoderm Research 1998 (M. D. Candia Carnevali & F. Bonasoro, eds.) pp. 237–242. A. A. Balkema: Rotterdam.
Sprinkle, J., & R. C. Moore. 1978. Echmatocrinea. In Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology pt. T. Echinodermata 2. Crinoidea (R. C. Moore & C. Teichert, eds.) vol. 2, pp. T405-T407. The Geological Society of America, Inc.: Boulder (Colorado), and The University of Kansas: Lawrence (Kansas).