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Clausocaris

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Clausocaris
Temporal range: Tithonian
Reconstruction of Clausocaris lithographica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Thylacocephala
Order: Conchyliocarida
Genus: Clausocaris
Species:
C. lithographica
Binomial name
Clausocaris lithographica
Polz, 1989
Clausoclaris lithographica specimen

Clausocaris is an extinct genus of Thylacocephalan containing the single species Clausocaris lithographica from the Late Jurassic (Tithonian) aged Solnhofen Limestone in Germany.[1] It was originally named Clausia by Oppenheim in 1888, but was later changed to Clausocaris. The morphology suggests a lifestyle of a mobile or ambush oceanic predator.[2]

Fossils have shown a carapace covering the bulk of its body, with compound eyes, possible gills, and also "raptorial appendages" controlled by "substantial striated muscles".[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Clausocaris at Fossilworks.org
  2. ^ a b Foote, Christopher (2014-08-22). "It's an eyeball with legs! Discovering more about the extinct, enigmatic and altogether bizarre Thylacocephlans". BMC Series blog. Retrieved 2019-09-21.