Wiwaxia
E779333
Wiwaxia is an extinct, soft-bodied marine organism from the Cambrian period, characterized by its scale- and spine-covered body and known from exceptionally preserved fossil deposits.
Observed surface forms (3)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Hallucigenia | 1 |
| Opabinia | 1 |
| Wiwaxia corrugata | 0 |
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Cambrian invertebrate
ⓘ
extinct genus ⓘ fossil taxon ⓘ type species ⓘ |
| belongsToBiota | Burgess Shale biota NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| bodyCovering |
dorsal spines
ⓘ
overlapping sclerites ⓘ |
| bodyFossilType | soft-bodied organism ⓘ |
| bodyPlan | dorsoventrally flattened body ⓘ |
| describedBy | Charles Doolittle Walcott NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| diet | detritivore ⓘ |
| ecologicalRole | benthic grazer ⓘ |
| environment | shallow marine ⓘ |
| feedingMode | grazing on microbial mats ⓘ |
| fossilRecordQuality | Lagerstätte preservation ⓘ |
| fossilSite |
Burgess Shale
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Chengjiang biota NERFINISHED ⓘ Sirius Passet NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| geographicOccurrence |
British Columbia, Canada
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Greenland NERFINISHED ⓘ Yunnan, China NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasMorphologicalFeature |
bilaterally symmetrical body
ⓘ
probable feeding apparatus with tooth-rows ⓘ rows of scale-like sclerites ⓘ two longitudinal rows of large spines ⓘ ventral creeping surface ⓘ |
| hasScleriteComposition | organic material ⓘ |
| hasTypeSpecies | Wiwaxia corrugata NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| kingdom | Animalia ⓘ |
| lifestyle | epibenthic ⓘ |
| livedDuring | Middle Cambrian ⓘ |
| locomotion | crawling on seafloor ⓘ |
| namedAfter | Mount Wiwaxy NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| paleoecologicalSignificance | represents early diversification of lophotrochozoans ⓘ |
| phylum | incertae sedis ⓘ |
| preservation | exceptional soft-tissue preservation ⓘ |
| researchTopic |
Cambrian explosion
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
early metazoan body plans ⓘ origin of molluscs ⓘ |
| scientificDebate |
affinities with annelids
ⓘ
affinities with molluscs ⓘ stem-group lophotrochozoan hypothesis ⓘ |
| scientificImportance | key taxon in early animal evolution studies ⓘ |
| size | approximately 1–5 cm in length ⓘ |
| symmetry | bilateral symmetry ⓘ |
| taxonomicStatus | problematic fossil ⓘ |
| temporalRange | Cambrian period NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| yearDescribed | 1911 ⓘ |
Referenced by (4)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
subject surface form:
Burgess Shale
this entity surface form:
Opabinia
this entity surface form:
Hallucigenia