Pambdelurion

Taxobox


superregnum = Eukarya
regnum = Animalia
subregnum = Eumetazoa
superphylum = Protostomia
phylum = †Dinocarida
ordo = Radiodonta
classis = ?Anomalocarida
genus = "Pambdelurion"
genus_authority = Budd 1997
species = "P. whittingtoni"
binomial = "Pambdelurion whittingtoni"
binomial_authority = Budd 1997

"Pambdelurion whittingtoni" was a blind nektonic organism from the Sirius Passet Lagerstätte, from Cambrian Greenland. Its anatomy strongly suggests that it, along with its relative "Kerygmachela kierkegaardi", was either an anomalocarid or a close relative thereof.

"P. whittingtoni" had a pair of massive anterior limbs that corresponded to the feeding limbs of other anomalocarids. The anterior limbs had a row of flexible, hair-like spines that corresponded with each segment of each limb. Unlike "K. kierkegaardi", "P. whittingtoni"'s mouth was relatively large, though it does not appear to have any large biting surfaces like the mouth of "Anomalocaris". It had 11 pairs of lateral lobes, and 11 pairs of relatively large, lobopod-like legs. None of the fossil specimens have any suggestion of posterior cerci, or tail-flaps.

The massive anterior limbs, with their comb-like rows of spines, suggest that "P. whittingtoni" was a planktivore.

External links

*Anomalocarid Homepage [http://www.trilobites.info/species4.html]
*Palaeos [http://www.palaeos.com/Invertebrates/Arthropods/Anomalocarida/Kerygmachela.html]