A suspension-feeding anomalocarid from the Early Cambrian
Large, actively swimming suspension feeders evolved several times in Earth's history, arising independently from groups as diverse as sharks, rays and stem teleost fishes, and in mysticete whales. However, animals occupying this niche have not been identified from the early Palaeozoic era. Anom...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1983/88f89453-e81f-4767-a74d-1794c33e6b34 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/88f89453-e81f-4767-a74d-1794c33e6b34 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13010 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/110105240/Gentle_giants_of_the_Cambrian_Nature_Bakewell1.pdf |
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ftubristolcris:oai:research-information.bris.ac.uk:publications/88f89453-e81f-4767-a74d-1794c33e6b34 2024-01-28T10:06:13+01:00 A suspension-feeding anomalocarid from the Early Cambrian Vinther, Jakob Stein, Martin Longrich, Nicholas R Harper, David A T 2014-03-27 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/1983/88f89453-e81f-4767-a74d-1794c33e6b34 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/88f89453-e81f-4767-a74d-1794c33e6b34 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13010 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/110105240/Gentle_giants_of_the_Cambrian_Nature_Bakewell1.pdf eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Vinther , J , Stein , M , Longrich , N R & Harper , D A T 2014 , ' A suspension-feeding anomalocarid from the Early Cambrian ' , Nature , vol. 507 , no. 7493 , pp. 496-499 . https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13010 article 2014 ftubristolcris https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13010 2024-01-04T23:41:45Z Large, actively swimming suspension feeders evolved several times in Earth's history, arising independently from groups as diverse as sharks, rays and stem teleost fishes, and in mysticete whales. However, animals occupying this niche have not been identified from the early Palaeozoic era. Anomalocarids, a group of stem arthropods that were the largest nektonic animals of the Cambrian and Ordovician periods, are generally thought to have been apex predators. Here we describe new material from Tamisiocaris borealis, an anomalocarid from the Early Cambrian (Series 2) Sirius Passet Fauna of North Greenland, and propose that its frontal appendage is specialized for suspension feeding. The appendage bears long, slender and equally spaced ventral spines furnished with dense rows of long and fine auxiliary spines. This suggests that T. borealis was a microphagous suspension feeder, using its appendages for sweep-net capture of food items down to 0.5 mm, within the size range of mesozooplankton such as copepods. Our observations demonstrate that large, nektonic suspension feeders first evolved during the Cambrian explosion, as part of an adaptive radiation of anomalocarids. The presence of nektonic suspension feeders in the Early Cambrian, together with evidence for a diverse pelagic community containing phytoplankton and mesozooplankton, indicate the existence of a complex pelagic ecosystem supported by high primary productivity and nutrient flux. Cambrian pelagic ecosystems seem to have been more modern than previously believed. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland North Greenland Copepods University of Bristol: Bristol Research Greenland Sirius ENVELOPE(163.250,163.250,-84.133,-84.133) Nature 507 7493 496 499 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Bristol: Bristol Research |
op_collection_id |
ftubristolcris |
language |
English |
description |
Large, actively swimming suspension feeders evolved several times in Earth's history, arising independently from groups as diverse as sharks, rays and stem teleost fishes, and in mysticete whales. However, animals occupying this niche have not been identified from the early Palaeozoic era. Anomalocarids, a group of stem arthropods that were the largest nektonic animals of the Cambrian and Ordovician periods, are generally thought to have been apex predators. Here we describe new material from Tamisiocaris borealis, an anomalocarid from the Early Cambrian (Series 2) Sirius Passet Fauna of North Greenland, and propose that its frontal appendage is specialized for suspension feeding. The appendage bears long, slender and equally spaced ventral spines furnished with dense rows of long and fine auxiliary spines. This suggests that T. borealis was a microphagous suspension feeder, using its appendages for sweep-net capture of food items down to 0.5 mm, within the size range of mesozooplankton such as copepods. Our observations demonstrate that large, nektonic suspension feeders first evolved during the Cambrian explosion, as part of an adaptive radiation of anomalocarids. The presence of nektonic suspension feeders in the Early Cambrian, together with evidence for a diverse pelagic community containing phytoplankton and mesozooplankton, indicate the existence of a complex pelagic ecosystem supported by high primary productivity and nutrient flux. Cambrian pelagic ecosystems seem to have been more modern than previously believed. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Vinther, Jakob Stein, Martin Longrich, Nicholas R Harper, David A T |
spellingShingle |
Vinther, Jakob Stein, Martin Longrich, Nicholas R Harper, David A T A suspension-feeding anomalocarid from the Early Cambrian |
author_facet |
Vinther, Jakob Stein, Martin Longrich, Nicholas R Harper, David A T |
author_sort |
Vinther, Jakob |
title |
A suspension-feeding anomalocarid from the Early Cambrian |
title_short |
A suspension-feeding anomalocarid from the Early Cambrian |
title_full |
A suspension-feeding anomalocarid from the Early Cambrian |
title_fullStr |
A suspension-feeding anomalocarid from the Early Cambrian |
title_full_unstemmed |
A suspension-feeding anomalocarid from the Early Cambrian |
title_sort |
suspension-feeding anomalocarid from the early cambrian |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1983/88f89453-e81f-4767-a74d-1794c33e6b34 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/88f89453-e81f-4767-a74d-1794c33e6b34 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13010 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/110105240/Gentle_giants_of_the_Cambrian_Nature_Bakewell1.pdf |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(163.250,163.250,-84.133,-84.133) |
geographic |
Greenland Sirius |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Sirius |
genre |
Greenland North Greenland Copepods |
genre_facet |
Greenland North Greenland Copepods |
op_source |
Vinther , J , Stein , M , Longrich , N R & Harper , D A T 2014 , ' A suspension-feeding anomalocarid from the Early Cambrian ' , Nature , vol. 507 , no. 7493 , pp. 496-499 . https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13010 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13010 |
container_title |
Nature |
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507 |
container_issue |
7493 |
container_start_page |
496 |
op_container_end_page |
499 |
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1789332934211141632 |