Haikoucaris

Haikoucaris is a genus of megacheiran arthropod that contains the single species Haikoucaris ercaiensis. It was discovered in the Cambrian Chengjiang biota of China.[1]

Haikoucaris
Temporal range: Early Cambrian–Mid Cambrian
Reconstruction of Haikoucaris ercaiensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: †Megacheira
Genus: †Haikoucaris
Species:
†H. ercaiensis
Binomial name
†Haikoucaris ercaiensis
Chen et al, 2004

Morphology

Haikoucaris measured about 38 mm in body length.[1] The elongated body compose of a semicircular head shield, 13 trunk tergites and a short spine-like telson.[2] The head possess a pair of unstalked eyes, a pair well-developed great appendages, as well as 3 more appendage pairs of unknown detail.[2] Each of the great appendage consists of a 2-segmented peduncle and a 3-segmented claw.[2] Each of the trunk segment possess a pair of biramus appendages that each comprising a leaf-shaped exopod and a possibly 7-segmented endopod.[2]

Paleoecology

Haikoucaris may have been a predator, with its great appendages and exopod suggested to be used for hunting and swimming respectively.[2]

Taxonomy

Within megacheirans, Haikoucaris is generally accepted to be a member of the clade Cheiromorpha alongside Yohoia and Leanchoiliidae.[3][4][5][6]

See also

References
  1. Chen, Junyuan; Waloszek, Dieter; Maas, Andreas (2004). "A new 'great-appendage' arthropod from the Lower Cambrian of China and homology of chelicerate chelicerae and raptorial antero-ventral appendages". Lethaia. 37 (1): 3–20. doi:10.1080/00241160410004764. ISSN 1502-3931.
  2. Xian-Guang, Hou; Siveter, David J.; Siveter, Derek J.; Aldridge, Richard J.; Pei-Yun, Cong; Gabbott, Sarah E.; Xiao-Ya, Ma; Purnell, Mark A.; Williams, Mark (2017-03-08). The Cambrian Fossils of Chengjiang, China: The Flowering of Early Animal Life. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-89631-0.
  3. Aria, Cédric; Caron, Jean-Bernard; Gaines, Robert (2015). "A large new leanchoiliid from the Burgess Shale and the influence of inapplicable states on stem arthropod phylogeny". Palaeontology. 58 (4): 629–660. doi:10.1111/pala.12161. ISSN 1475-4983.
  4. Izquierdo-López, Alejandro; Caron, Jean-Bernard (2019). "A possible case of inverted lifestyle in a new bivalved arthropod from the Burgess Shale". Royal Society Open Science. 6 (11): 191350. doi:10.1098/rsos.191350. PMC 6894550. PMID 31827867.
  5. Aria, Cédric; Caron, Jean-Bernard (2017-12-21). "Mandibulate convergence in an armoured Cambrian stem chelicerate". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 17 (1): 261. doi:10.1186/s12862-017-1088-7. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 5738823. PMID 29262772.
  6. Aria, Cédric; Zhao, Fangchen; Zeng, Han; Guo, Jin; Zhu, Maoyan (December 2020). "Fossils from South China redefine the ancestral euarthropod body plan". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 20 (1): 4. doi:10.1186/s12862-019-1560-7. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 6950928. PMID 31914921.
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