The Burgess shall animal Oesia is not a chaetognath: a reply to Szaniawski (2005)

Conway Morris, S. (2009) The Burgess shall animal Oesia is not a chaetognath: a reply to Szaniawski (2005). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 54 (1). pp. 175-179. ISSN 0567-7920 EISSN: 1732-2421

PDF SCM_Acta_Pala_Polo_2009.pdf Restricted to Registered users only Download (178kB)

Abstract

The Middle Cambrian Oesia disjuncta, a monospecific genus, is known only from the celebrated Burgess Shale of British Columbia. It has been re−interpreted by Szaniawski (Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 50:1–8; 2005) as a chaetognath, a distinctive phylum whose exact position in the protostomes is still controversial. Unequivocal chaetognaths, that have no similarity to Oesia, are already known to occur in the Chengjiang Lagerstätte (Lower Cambrian, S.W. China), and here I describe the first example of a chaetognath from the Burgess Shale itself. Comparisons between Oesia and chaetognaths fail to find any significant homologies. Whilst the phyletic position of Oesia is very uncertain, a place in the hemichordates may be worth exploring.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	08AREP IA57 2009
Subjects:	04 - Palaeobiology
Divisions:	04 - Palaeobiology
Journal or Publication Title:	Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
Volume:	54
Page Range:	pp. 175-179
Depositing User:	Sarah Humbert
Date Deposited:	16 Feb 2009 13:02
Last Modified:	23 Jul 2013 10:06
URI:	http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/id/eprint/215

Actions (login required)

View Item