Pambdelurion

Pambdelurion whittingtoni is an extinct, 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.[2]

Pambdelurion Temporal range: Cambrian stage 3 PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Fossil showing external anatomy, from [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	†Dinocaridida
Genus:	†Pambdelurion
Species:	†P. whittingtoni
Binomial name
†Pambdelurion whittingtoni Budd 1997

Reconstruction

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.

References

1. Young FJ, Vinther J (2017) Onychophoran-like myoanatomy of the Cambrian gilled lobopodian Pambdelurion whittingtoni. Palaeontology, online in advance of print. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pala.12269 Young FJ, Vinther J (2016) Data from: Onychophoran-like myoanatomy of the Cambrian gilled lobopodian Pambdelurion whittingtoni. Dryad Digital Repository. https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.7jh0q
2. Budd, G. E. (1997). "11. Stem group arthropods from the Lower Cambrian Sirius Passet fauna of North Greenland". In Fortey, Richard A; Thomas, Richard H (eds.). Arthropod relationships. ISBN 978-0-412-75420-3.

External links

• Anomalocarid Homepage
• Palaeos