Kingdom Animalia Class †Archaeopriapulida | Stem group Priapulida (?) Rank Genus | |
Similar Ancalagon, Selkirkia, Halicryptus, Priapulus caudatus, Ottoia | ||
Lecythioscopa is a genus of probable archaeopriapulid known from two specimens from the Walcott Quarry from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale.
Contents
Morphology
The specimens of Lectythioscopa are both missing their posterior portions, leaving a head, comparable to the proboscis of other priapulids, and long trunk, which is curved in both specimens. The animal was probably a burrower due to its external radial symmetry.
History
The species was originally placed as Canadia simplex by Charles Walcott in a 1931 publication based on a single specimen. Simon Conway Morris later identified what was previously considered a specimen of Canadia dubia as sharing similar features, placing them both under the name of Lecythioscopa simplex.
References
Lecythioscopa Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA