Martinssonia Explained

Martinssonia is an extinct genus of Cambrian arthropod from the Orsten Lagerstätte.

Description

Martinssonia is a small (roughly 1.5 mm long) arthropod, with eight pairs of appendages and ten segments including the eyeless head. It has a pair of antennae, twelve biramous appendages on its head and front two body segments and a final pair of uniramous appendages on its third segment. Martinssonia also seems to have a pleotelson, similar to modern crustacean larvae..^[1]

Ecology

Martinssonia was presumably a benthic detritivore, stirring up food particles from the seafloor.^[2]

Etymology

Martinssonia is named for Anders Martinsson, a former Professor of Palaeobiology at Uppsala University in Sweden. The species name, elongata, is derived from its long trunk.^[3]

Distribution

Martinssonia is known from twenty-one specimens of different larval forms, all from the Orsten Lagerstätte in Sweden, alongside thirteen specimens now referred to as Musacaris^[4]

Notes and References

1. Waloszek . Dieter . Martinssonia elongata gen. et sp.n., a crustacean-like euarthropod from the Upper Cambrian 'Orsten' of Sweden . Zoologica Scripta . July 1986 . 15 . 73–92 . 10.1111/j.1463-6409.1986.tb00211.x . 84246646 .
2. Waloszek . Dieter . Martinssonia elongata gen. et sp.n., a crustacean-like euarthropod from the Upper Cambrian 'Orsten' of Sweden . Zoologica Scripta . July 1986 . 15 . 73–92 . 10.1111/j.1463-6409.1986.tb00211.x . 84246646 .
3. Waloszek . Dieter . Martinssonia elongata gen. et sp.n., a crustacean-like euarthropod from the Upper Cambrian 'Orsten' of Sweden . Zoologica Scripta . July 1986 . 15 . 73–92 . 10.1111/j.1463-6409.1986.tb00211.x . 84246646 .
4. Haug . Joachim . High-level phylogenetic analysis using developmental sequences: The Cambrian Martinssonia elongata, Musacaris gerdgeyeri gen. et sp. nov. and their position in early crustacean evolution . Arthropod Structure and Development . 14 January 2010 . 29 . 2 . 154–173 . 10.1016/j.asd.2010.01.005 . 20097307 .