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Fieldia (worm)

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Extinct genus of arthropods

Fieldia
Temporal range: Middle Cambrian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Stem group: Priapulida (?)
Class: †Archaeopriapulida
Family: †Fieldiidae
Genus: †Fieldia
Walcott, 1912
Species

Fieldia (named after American businessman and financier Cyrus W. Field) is a genus of worms known from the Cambrian Burgess Shale, and assigned to the priapulids.

It was originally interpreted as an arthropod; its trunk bears a dense covering of spines, and its proboscis is small. It fed on sea-floor mud, evidenced by the frequent presence of sediments preserved in its gut. It reached 5 cm in length.

Along with the other Cambrian priapulids Ottoia, Selkirkia, Louisella, Ancalagon, Scolecofurca, and Lecythioscopa, the organism was originally classified into a clade termed the Archaeopriapulida, a stem group to the Priapulids proper. However, the morphological similarity of these organisms to their modern cousins is remarkable, especially for the Burgess Shale, and their similarity to the modern genus Maccabeus suggests that they are in the Seticoronaria stem group, and thus are true crown-group priapulids. A phylogenetic analysis does not provide a great deal of resolution to the relationships between these basal worms.

18 species of Fieldia are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise 0.03% of the community.

References

  1. "Fieldia lanceolata". Burgess Shale Fossil Gallery. Virtual Museum of Canada. 2011.
  2. ^ Conway Morris, S. (1979). "The Burgess Shale (Middle Cambrian) Fauna". Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics. 10: 327–349. doi:10.1146/annurev.es.10.110179.001551.
  3. ^ Por, F. D. (1983). "Class Seticoronaria and Phylogeny of the Phylum Priapulida". Zoologica Scripta. 12 (4): 267–272. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.1983.tb00510.x. S2CID 85091685.
  4. Huang, D. Y.; Vannier, J.; Chen, J.Y. (2004). "Anatomy and lifestyles of Early Cambrian priapulid worms exemplified by Corynetis and Anningvermis from the Maotianshan Shale (SW China)". Lethaia. 37: 21–33. Bibcode:2004Letha..37...21H. doi:10.1080/00241160410005088.
  5. Wills, M. A. (1 April 1998). "Cambrian and Recent Disparity: the Picture from Priapulids". Paleobiology. 24 (2): 177–199. doi:10.1666/0094-8373(1998)024[0177:CARDTP]2.3.CO;2. JSTOR 2401237. S2CID 88647544.
  6. Caron, Jean-Bernard; Jackson, Donald A. (October 2006). "Taphonomy of the Greater Phyllopod Bed community, Burgess Shale". PALAIOS. 21 (5): 451–65. Bibcode:2006Palai..21..451C. doi:10.2110/palo.2003.P05-070R. JSTOR 20173022. S2CID 53646959.

External links

Taxon identifiers
Fieldia
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