Capinatator praetermissus is an extinct arrow worm from the Burgess Shale lagerstätte, living about 508 million years ago in what is now British Columbia. It has the distinction of having 50 spines around its mouth. As with modern arrow worms, the spines were used to grasp prey for consumption. C. praetermissus is thought to represent a stage of chaetognathan evolution before arrow worms became planktonic swimmers.[1]

Capinatator
Temporal range: Miaolingian
C. praetermissus compared to Amiskwia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chaetognatha
Genus: Capinatator
Species:
C. praetermissus
Binomial name
Capinatator praetermissus
Briggs and Caron, 2017[1]

The worm was 10 cm long. The spines were curved and around 1 cm long.[1]

The generic name "Capinatator" means "grasping swimmer".[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d Briggs, Derek E.G; Caron, Jean-Bernard (2017). "A Large Cambrian Chaetognath with Supernumerary Grasping Spines". Current Biology. 27 (16): 2536–2543.e1. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.07.003. PMID 28781052.