Lepidocoleus is a genus of extinct armored annelid worm in the class Machaeridia. Two notable species are L. caliburnus or the "Excalibur worm", and L. shurikenus, or the "shuriken worm".[1] The creature had a "suit" of armor running down its body in the form of overlapping calcite crystals.[1] This worm probably lived in shallow water reefs feeding on organic waste.[2] It lived from the Hirnantian of the upper Ordovician to the Famennian of the Devonian.[3]
| Lepidocoleus Temporal range:
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Annelida |
| Clade: | Pleistoannelida |
| Subclass: | Errantia |
| Order: | Phyllodocida |
| Family: | †Lepidocoleidae |
| Genus: | †Lepidocoleus Faber, 1886 |
| Species | |
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Description
editThe worm is tiny, only about a fraction of an inch long.[1] The creatures had two pairs of armor plates on their body, one running the length of the skeleton, and the other on the sides of the body.[1] Because of this, the worm probably could have rolled into a ball like a Trilobite.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Fossils of 400-million-year-old 'Excalibur worm' discovered in Australia". Livescience.com. 2 December 2021.
- ^ a b Jacquet, Sarah M.; Selly, Tara; Schiffbauer, James D.; Brock, Glenn A. (2021). "Sclerite assembly, articulation and protective system of Lower Devonian machaeridians". Papers in Palaeontology. 8. doi:10.1002/spp2.1410. S2CID 243825597.
- ^ "Lepidocoleus †". Mindat.org.