Canadaspis
Name:
Canadaspis
(Canada shield).
Phonetic: Can-ah-da-ass-pis.
Named By: Derek Briggs - 1978.
Classification: Arthropoda, Crustacea,
Malacostraca.
Species: C. perfecta (type), C.
laevigata.
Diet: Organic material in sediment.
Size: Up to 47 millimetres long, from head to
tail. Many specimens are smaller than this.
Known locations: Canada. USA. China.
Time period: Cambrian.
Fossil representation: Over 4500 fossil
specimens.
Canadaspis
acquired its name because it was first identified from Canadian
deposits and has a large shell referenced as a shield protecting its
upper body. Canadaspis also has a number of
spines rising up from its
upper body that seem to serve the purpose of protection for its eyes.
Since its initial discovery Canadaspis has been
found to have a large
representation in the fossil record. The body layout of Canadaspis
indicates that it was not an open water creature but probably spent
most if not all of its time on the bottom looking for food.
Canadaspis
fed by pushing its biramous appendages (an appendage that forks into
two) through sediment. The spines from these appendages would
filter the sediment as they moved through it, trapping morsels of
organic matter. Canadaspis would then pass this
food into its mouth
for feeding.
Although
initially classed as a crustacean, some researchers think that
Canadaspis should actually be classed as a
euarthropod. Such a
placement would see Canadaspis have a more basal
position within the
Arthropoda, but the decision to move Canadaspis
remains controversial
with the majority of sources still placing beneath the Crustacea.
Further reading
- The morphology, mode of life, and affinities of Canadaspis
perfecta
(Crustacea: Phyllocarida), Middle Cambrian, Burgess Shale, British
Columbia. - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Soceity of London
281. - D. Briggs - 1978.
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