Marrella
E782938
Marrella is an extinct, small, soft-bodied arthropod known from the Burgess Shale, notable for its distinctive spined head shield and importance in understanding early Cambrian marine ecosystems.
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Burgess Shale fossil
ⓘ
fossil arthropod genus ⓘ |
| ageInMillionsOfYears | approximately 508 million years ago ⓘ |
| bodyPlan | soft-bodied arthropod with cephalic shield and spines ⓘ |
| bodySize | about 2 cm in length ⓘ |
| class | Marrellomorpha NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| describedBy | Charles Doolittle Walcott NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| discoveredAt | Walcott Quarry NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| ecologicalRole | component of early Cambrian marine ecosystems ⓘ |
| environment | outer shelf marine setting ⓘ |
| exhibits |
complex cephalic ornamentation
ⓘ
well-developed gill branches on appendages ⓘ |
| family | Marrellidae NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| fossilAbundance | one of the most abundant arthropods in the Burgess Shale ⓘ |
| fossilRange | Middle Cambrian (Wuliuan) ⓘ |
| foundInCountry | Canada NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| foundInRegion | British Columbia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| geologicalPeriod | Cambrian NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| geologicalStage | Middle Cambrian NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasCommonName | lace crab (informal, misleading name) ⓘ |
| hasMorphologicalFeature |
antennae
ⓘ
biramous appendages ⓘ distinctive spined head shield ⓘ many trunk segments ⓘ pair of anterolateral head spines ⓘ two pairs of long posteriorly directed head spines ⓘ |
| hasSoftTissuePreservation | yes ⓘ |
| importance |
iconic fossil of the Burgess Shale
ⓘ
key taxon for understanding early arthropod evolution ⓘ |
| kingdom | Animalia ⓘ |
| knownFrom |
Burgess Shale
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Stephen Formation NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| lifestyle | benthic ⓘ |
| likelyFeedingType |
deposit feeder
ⓘ
scavenger ⓘ |
| notableFor |
challenging traditional arthropod classification
ⓘ
unusual combination of arthropod characters ⓘ |
| order | Marrellida NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| phylum | Arthropoda NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| preservation | carbonaceous compression fossils ⓘ |
| relatedTo | other marrellomorph arthropods ⓘ |
| taxonomicStatus | extinct ⓘ |
| typeSpecies | Marrella splendens NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| usedIn |
studies of Burgess Shale-type preservation
ⓘ
studies of Cambrian explosion ⓘ |
| yearDescribed | 1912 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.