Waptia fieldensis Walcott, 1912 is an iconic animal from the middle Cambrian Burgess Shale biota in British Columbia that had lacked a formal description since its discovery at the beginning of the 20th century. Drawing on some 1,800 specimens, researchers three-dimensionally reconstructed the ~508-million-year-old animal’s functional anatomy. The shrimp-like animal’s compound eyes, antennae, mandibles, and swimming and breathing appendages shed light on the early evolution of mandibled arthropods and crustaceans.
Royal Society Open Science
Published June 20, 2018 (Brief from Royal Society)
URL after publication
Canadian co-authors: Rod Taylor, Memorial University of Newfoundland – rodt@mun.ca; Jean-Bernard Caron, Royal Ontario Museum – jcaron@rom.on.ca
