Odaraia
Encyclopedia
Odaraia is a genus
of crustacean arthropod
from the Middle Cambrian
. Its fossil
s, which reach 15cm in length, have been found in the Burgess Shale
in British Columbia
, Canada
.
It bore a large pair of eyes at the front of its body, and may have had two smaller eyes in between. It had a tubular body with at least 45 pairs of biramous limbs, and its tail had three fins - two horizontal, one vertical - which were used to stabilise the animal as it swam on its back.
Odaria probably captured small swimming animals in its shell.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of crustacean arthropod
Arthropod
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
from the Middle Cambrian
Cambrian
The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from Mya ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for Wales, where Britain's...
. Its fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s, which reach 15cm in length, have been found in the Burgess Shale
Burgess Shale
The Burgess Shale Formation, located in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, is one of the world's most celebrated fossil fields, and the best of its kind. It is famous for the exceptional preservation of the soft parts of its fossils...
in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
It bore a large pair of eyes at the front of its body, and may have had two smaller eyes in between. It had a tubular body with at least 45 pairs of biramous limbs, and its tail had three fins - two horizontal, one vertical - which were used to stabilise the animal as it swam on its back.
Odaria probably captured small swimming animals in its shell.
Further reading
- The Cambrian Fossils of Chengjiang, China: The Flowering of Early Animal Life by Xian-Guang Hou, Richard J. Aldridge, Jan Bergstrom, and David J. Siveter
External links
- Odaraia in the Paleobiology DatabasePaleobiology Database' is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals, plants, and microorganisms.-History:The Paleobiology Database was founded in 2000. It has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Australian Research Council...