Marocella

Marocella is a conical shelly fossil of uncertain affinity (probably a mollusc) known from Cambrian strata of Europe, Morocco, Australia and Antarctica.[2]

Marocella
Temporal range: Early-Middle Cambrian
~516–505 Ma
Marocella
source: Evans, 1992
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
incertae sedis
Binomial name
Marocella
Geyer 1986[1]
Type species
Marocella mira
Species
  • M. antiqua
  • M. australica
  • M. depressa
  • M. mira
  • M. morenensis
  • M. tichkaensis

Morphology

Limpet-like Marocella is a low conical shell with concentric ridges that grew to a couple of centimetres in length.[3]

Affinity

Marocella is thought to be a mollusc, although its position within this phylum is undetermined.[3] Relationship to the halkieriids has also been considered.[2]

Ecology

Some specimens show evidence of repairing damage caused by predators.[3] It probably moved around on the sea floor.[3] It was geographically widespread.[3]

Distribution

Fossils of Marocella have been found in:[4]

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References
  1. Geyer, G. (1986). "Mittelkambrische Mollusken aus Marokko und Spanien". Senckenbergiana Lethaea (in German). 67: 55–118.
  2. Evans, K. R. (1992). "Marocella: Antarctic Specimens of an Enigmatic Cambrian Animal". Journal of Paleontology. 66 (4): 558–562. doi:10.1017/s0022336000024422. JSTOR 1305841.
  3. Skovsted, C. B.; Brock, G. A.; Lindström, A.; Peel, J. S.; Paterson, J. R.; Fuller, M. K. (2007). "Early Cambrian record of failed durophagy and shell repair in an epibenthic mollusc". Biology Letters. 3 (3): 314–317. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0006. PMC 2464687. PMID 17412671.
  4. Marocella at Fossilworks.org
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