Musacaris Explained

Musacaris is an extinct genus of Cambrian arthropod from the Orsten Lagerstätte, formerly synonymous with Martinssonia. It contains only a single species, Musacaris gerdgeyeri.

Description

Musacaris is a small (roughly 0.8 mm long), unsegmented arthropod, with four pairs of appendages. It has a pair of antennae, and three pairs of biramous appendages[1] On its head, it also has an unusual projection, possibly the future position of the mouth. The unsegmented body suggests all current specimens of Musacaris may be so-called "head larvae". The five developmental stages are quite similar, with the same amount and positioning of the limbs. Currently, Musacaris is thought to be a basal mandibulate or stem-crustacean, possibly sister to labrophorans (Crustacea and Phosphatocopina).

Distribution

Musacaris is known from thirteen specimens of different larval forms, all from the Orsten Lagerstätte in Sweden, alongside twenty-one other specimens referred to Martinssonia elongata.[2]

Notes and References

  1. 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 & Development . January 2010 . 39 . 2 . 154–173 . 10.1016/j.asd.2010.01.005 . 20097307 . .
  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 .