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Dryad

Data from: A palaeoscolecid worm from the Burgess Shale

Cite this dataset

Smith, Martin R. (2016). Data from: A palaeoscolecid worm from the Burgess Shale [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.cf493

Abstract

Palaeoscolecid worms are a ubiquitous group of Early Palaeozoic ecdysozoans that are curiously lacking in the archetypal Cambrian Lagerstätten, the Burgess Shale. Here I describe Scathascolex minor gen. et sp. nov, the first unequivocal palaeoscolecid from this site. Scathascolex is armoured with simple Hadimopanella-like plates, but lacks smaller platelets, pointing to a close affinity with the Palaeoscolecida sensu stricto. Neither preservational nor environmental factors account for the scarcity of palaeoscolecids in the Burgess Shale, which presumably represents an ecological phenomenon.

Usage notes

Location

Yoho National Park
British Columbia
Burgess Shale