Orthozanclus reburrus is a small (about 10 mm), enigmatic fossil from the Burgess Shale. It shares a common ancestor with Wiwaxia corrugata, as both species have feeding structures composed of two or more transverse, chevron-shaped rows of teeth (possibly replacement rows) in a ventral apparatus, suggesting feeding by rasping of algal mats or sheets on the seafloor. This illustration was developed as part of a series of 3D reconstructions for Doug Erwin and Jim Valentine's The Cambrian Explosion: The Construction of Animal Biodiversity (Roberts & Company, 2013).
keywords: evolutionary lineage, biodiversity, adaptation, reconstructions, Cambrian, Burgess Shale, Orthrozanclus, molluscs
Original Caption: Orthozanclus reburrus is a small enigmatic fossil from the Burgess Shale (about 10mm). It shares a common ancestor with Wiwaxia corrugata, as both species have feeding structures composed of two or more transverse, chevron-shaped rows of teeth (possibly replacement rows) in a ventral apparatus, suggesting feeding by rasping of algal mats or sheets on the seafloor. This illustration was developed as part of a series of 3D reconstructions for Doug Erwin and Jim Valentine's new book "The Cambrian Explosion: The Construction of Animal Biodiversity" (Roberts & Company Publishers 2013). |
