Name:
Siphusauctum
(cup large).
Phonetic: Sy-fus-auk-tum.
Named By: Lorna J. O'Brien &
Jean-Bernard Caron - 2012.
Classification: Animalia, Bilateria,
Siphusauctidae.
Species: S. gregarium
(type), S. lloydguntheri.
Diet: Filter feeder.
Size: Up to 20 centimetres.
Known locations: Canada, British Columbia -
Burgess Shale. USA, Utah - Spence Shale.
Time period: Mid Cambrian.
Fossil representation: Several individuals.
Siphusauctum
is a genus of filter feeding animal that lived on sea floors during the
mid Cambrian era. Roughly shaped like a bell pepper on a stick,
the main body of Siphusauctum was attached to the
sea floor with a
hold fast. With the body held up off the sea floor, Siphusauctum
passed water through its body. Any small creatures or organic
particles trapped in the filters of the body would then be digested.
Further reading
- A new stalked
filter-feeder from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale, British
Columbia, Canada. - PLoS ONE. 7 (1): e29233. - Lorna
J. O'Brien & Jean-Bernard Caron - 2012.
- The stalked
filter feeder Siphusauctum lloydguntheri n. sp.
from the middle
Cambrian (Series 3, Stage 5) Spence Shale of Utah: its
biological affinities and taphonomy. Journal of Paleontology. -
Julien Kimmig, Luke C. Strotz & Bruce S. Lieberman
-
2017.
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