| Scolecofurca Temporal range: 505 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Burgess Shale | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Stem group: | Priapulida (?) |
| Genus: | †Scolecofurca Conway Morris, 1977 |
| Species: | †S. rara |
| Binomial name | |
| †Scolecofurca rara Conway Morris, 1977 | |
Scolecofurca is a genus of stem-group priapulid worm dating from the Middle Cambrian period approximately 505 million years ago.
It is known from a single fossil specimen from the Raymond Quarry in the Burgess Shale in the Canadian Rockies.
The only known species in the species Scolecofurca rara was first described by Conway Morris in 1977 as a possible primitive priapulid, but later shown to belong to the priapulid stem group. Its name is derived from the Greek skolex (worm) and the Latin furca (fork) and rara (infrequent).
Morphology
Scolecofura's single fossil specimen is 6.5 centimeters in length. The fossil displays a proboscis of constant width, with two 3 millimeter tentacles at the anterior. The tentacles most likely would have functioned for sensory purposes rather than for feeding. The trunk of the organism is lined with annulations separated by 7 millimeters. The specimen is incomplete, and the posterior features of the animal are currently unknown.
References
- ^ Conway Morris, S (1977). "Fossil priapulid worms". Special Papers in Palaeontology. 20.
- Harvey, T. H.; Dong, X.; Donoghue, P. C. (2010). "Are palaeoscolecids ancestral ecdysozoans?". Evolution & Development. 12 (2): 177–200. doi:10.1111/j.1525-142X.2010.00403.x. PMID 20433458. S2CID 16872271.
- "Scolecofurca rara". Burgess Shale Fossil Gallery. Virtual Museum of Canada. 2011. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Scolecofurca | |