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:
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|---|---|
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| C. praetermissus compared to Amiskwia | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chaetognatha |
| Genus: | †Capinatator |
| Species: | †C. praetermissus
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| Binomial name | |
| †Capinatator praetermissus Briggs and Caron, 2017[1]
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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- ^ 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.