Parapeytoia
Encyclopedia
Parapeytoia was a prehistoric animal that lived over 530 million years ago that lived in Maotianshan shales
of prehistoric China
. Like the anomalocarid
s that it resembled (or was possibly related to), Parapeytoia had two head appendages in front of the also anomalocarid like round mouth, eyes on stalks, and fleshy lobed ending with a fan tail. Parapeytoia had at least 14 pairs of lobes on the sides of the body.
Many scientists debate whether or not Parapeytoia was a true anomalocarid
, or rather more closely related to Yohoia
or Haikoucaris, because unlike anomalocarids such as Amplectobelua
, it had legs. In total Parapeytoia had 13 pairs of legs. The first two pairs of legs it had were almost twice as small as the other legs. But because it had legs, it probably spent most of its time on the ocean floor, hunting (or possibly scavenging) for prey.
The food for Parapeytoia probably included arthropods (including trilobites), worms, early molluscs and other creatures found in the diversity of prehistoric China.
Sclerites interpreted as its mouthparts have since been assigned to a new priapulid worm genus, Omnidens
.
Maotianshan shales
The Maotianshan Shales are a series of lower Cambrian deposits in the Chiungchussu formation, famous for their Konservat Lagerstätten, or high number of fossils preserved in place...
of prehistoric China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Like the anomalocarid
Anomalocarid
AnomalocarididsNeolatin compound word from Greek ἀνώμαλος anomalos and καρίς karis , meaning "strange shrimp". Note that while "Anomalocarid" is a widely used alternative spelling, the double "id" at the end is technically the correct form, for the reasons given in...
s that it resembled (or was possibly related to), Parapeytoia had two head appendages in front of the also anomalocarid like round mouth, eyes on stalks, and fleshy lobed ending with a fan tail. Parapeytoia had at least 14 pairs of lobes on the sides of the body.
Many scientists debate whether or not Parapeytoia was a true anomalocarid
Anomalocarid
AnomalocarididsNeolatin compound word from Greek ἀνώμαλος anomalos and καρίς karis , meaning "strange shrimp". Note that while "Anomalocarid" is a widely used alternative spelling, the double "id" at the end is technically the correct form, for the reasons given in...
, or rather more closely related to Yohoia
Yohoia
Yohoia is a tiny, extinct animal from the Cambrian period that has been found as fossils in the Burgess Shale formation of British Columbia, Canada. It has been placed among the arachnomorphs, a group of arthropods that includes the chelicerates and trilobites. Their sizes range from 7 to 23 mm...
or Haikoucaris, because unlike anomalocarids such as Amplectobelua
Amplectobelua
Amplectobelua is an extinct genus of anomalocaridid, a group of very early marine animals. While completely different from any animal alive today, some scientists do believe that the very primitive anomalocarids were in fact somewhat related to arthropods...
, it had legs. In total Parapeytoia had 13 pairs of legs. The first two pairs of legs it had were almost twice as small as the other legs. But because it had legs, it probably spent most of its time on the ocean floor, hunting (or possibly scavenging) for prey.
The food for Parapeytoia probably included arthropods (including trilobites), worms, early molluscs and other creatures found in the diversity of prehistoric China.
Sclerites interpreted as its mouthparts have since been assigned to a new priapulid worm genus, Omnidens
Omnidens
Omnidens, meaning "all tooth", is a genus of Cambrian priapulid originally mistaken for a Parapeytoia mouthpart....
.