Aegirocassis

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Aegirocassis
Temporal range:
Ma
↓
Fossil holotype
Reconstruction of Aegirocassis benmoulai
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: †Dinocaridida
Order: †Radiodonta
Family: †Hurdiidae
Subfamily: †Aegirocassisinae
Genus: †Aegirocassis
Species:
†A. benmoulai
Binomial name
†Aegirocassis benmoulai
Van Roy, Daley, & Briggs, 2015[1] (nom. corr. Van Roy et al in press[2])

Aegirocassis is an

suspension feeding lifeforms.[4][5] Alongside the closely related Pseudoangustidontus,[6] an unnamed hurdiid from Wales,[7] the middle Ordovician dinocaridid Mieridduryn,[8] and the Devonian hurdiid Schinderhannes this radiodont is one of the few dinocaridids known from post-Cambrian rocks.[9]

Description

  • Size estimation
    Size estimation
  • Fossil of frontal appendage
    Fossil of frontal appendage
  • Reconstruction of frontal appendage
    Reconstruction of frontal appendage

A. benmoulai was the largest known radiodont and the largest known animal that existed in this period,[10] and the length was described as exceeding 2.0 metres (6.6 ft).[1]

The fossil was preserved with exceptional

biramous limb.[1][10] This discovery also found that other hurdiid radiodonts like Peytoia and Hurdia had a dorsal pair of flaps as well.[1]

Frontal appendages of Aegirocassis had five endites, and each endites had around 80 setae-like auxiliary spines. These spines are estimated to have been used as a mesh for filter feeding. It was probably able to consume mesozooplankton roughly the same size as the other filter feeding radiodont, Tamisiocaris, was able to catch. However, the spines on the frontal appendages of Aegirocassis are inward-angled, which allowed the spines to overlap to a degree, allowing more control over the size of the filtering mesh. This has led to the estimation that Aegirocassis may have fed on larger size ranges of zooplankton than Tamisiocaris could. In addition, the large carapace (H-element) may have helped to guide the feeding current to the frontal appendages.[1] Eyes and mouthpart (oral cone) are not known from Aegirocassis. Since it was probably a filter feeder, Aegirocassis probably lacked a hard mouthpart and had a flexible one, explaining why mouth structures are not preserved.[1]

Discovery

A fossil of A. benmoulai from the

Fezouata biota, Morocco was discovered by and named after Mohamed Ben Moula, a fossil collector who recognized its rare characteristics and brought it to the notice of a professional paleontologist, Peter Van Roy, at the Ghent University in Belgium.[11]

Phylogeny

Phylogenetic position of Aegirocassis within Panarthropoda, according to Pates et al. (2022).[12]

See also

Notes

  1. ICZN.[2]

References

  1. ^
    S2CID 205242881
    .
  2. ^
    S2CID 129319753
    .
  3. ^ Van Roy, Peter (12 March 2015). "Fossils of huge plankton-eating sea creature shine light on early arthropod evolution". The Conversation. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  4. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.05.031
    .
  5. doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2016.12.008
    .
  6. doi:10.3389/fevo.2023.1214109
    .
  7. PMID 32742697
    .
  8. PMID 36379946
    .
  9. S2CID 47555807
    .
  10. ^ a b Perkins, S. (2015-03-11). "Newly discovered sea creature was once the largest animal on Earth". AAAS. Retrieved 2015-03-13.
  11. S2CID 205224390
    .
  12. PMID 35135344
    .
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