Cambrian animal catalogue A to Z
Soft-bodied experiments, early predators and the evidence preserved in ancient seas
This collection begins with six complete profiles in the same order as the Russian catalogue. It includes exceptional Cambrian soft-body fossils and three later early Palaeozoic entries retained from that established collection.
Every guide states its geological age and separates fossil anatomy from inference and artistic reconstruction.
A
AAcodus
Acodus
An Early Ordovician conodont reconstructed from microscopic phosphatic elements that formed a seven-position feeding apparatus.
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AAlalcomenaeus
Alalcomenaeus cambricus
A small Cambrian megacheiran with grasping frontal appendages, known from hundreds of Burgess Shale fossils; proposed neural traces remain disputed.
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AAldanella
Aldanella attleborensis
A millimetre-scale coiled shell whose internal traces and first appearances inform early Cambrian comparisons.
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AAmblysiphonella
Amblysiphonella barroisi
A chambered calcareous sponge whose possible Cambrian occurrence remains uncertain beside its Carboniferous type record.
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AAmiskwia
Amiskwia sagittiformis
A soft-bodied swimmer whose tiny pharyngeal structures, interpreted as jaws, reshaped a long-running debate.
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AAmmagnostus
Ammagnostus psammius
A small agnostoid trilobite whose two-segmented trunk and subtle shield grooves carry its diagnostic signal.
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AAnabarites
Anabarites trisulcatus
A small shelly fossil with a three-lobed tube and uncertain biological affinities.
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AAnomalocaris
Anomalocaris canadensis
A large Cambrian radiodont that swam with lateral flaps and captured mobile soft-bodied prey with paired frontal appendages.
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AAphelaspis
Aphelaspis walcotti and related species
An Upper Cambrian trilobite known from adult shields and tiny silicified growth stages in some species.
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AArchaeocyathus
Archaeocyathus atlanticus
A double-walled porous cup from the early Cambrian reef record, anchored by a Labrador type specimen.
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AArchaeolynthus
Archaeolynthus porosus
A lower Cambrian archaeocyath whose single porous wall sets it apart from double-walled cups.
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AAsaphellus
Asaphellus riojanus and related species
A broad asaphid trilobite best known from the Ordovician, with a few records near the Cambrian boundary.
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AAysheaia
Aysheaia pedunculata
A Burgess Shale lobopodian with a ringed soft body and ten pairs of clawed legs.
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BBienvillia
Bienvillia corax
A small olenid trilobite whose head-shield furrows distinguish it from close relatives.
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CCambrocyathellus
Cambrocyathellus tschuranicus
A double-walled early Cambrian cup with vertical perforated plates and a type specimen now unlocated.
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CCambroraster
Cambroraster falcatus
A Burgess Shale hurdiid radiodont with a broad horseshoe-shaped head shield and densely spined frontal appendages.
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CCameroceras
Cameroceras trentonense
An Ordovician endocerid known from fragmentary straight shells; the largest length estimates depend on extrapolation.
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CCanadaspis
Canadaspis perfecta
A Burgess Shale arthropod with a two-valved carapace, many jointed limbs and a narrow segmented abdomen.
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CCanadia
Canadia spinosa
A Burgess Shale annelid with bristled parapodia and carbon traces interpreted as parts of its nervous system.
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CCatenipora
Catenipora
A fossil-based guide to Catenipora, its chain-like tabulate colonies, Ordovician and Silurian records, morphometrics and ecological limits.
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CChancelloria
Chancelloria eros
A Cambrian animal with a sac-like body covered in distinctive star-shaped sclerites.
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CConotheca
Conotheca mammilata
An early Cambrian tube fossil whose missing soft anatomy leaves its exact relationships unsettled.
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CCordylodus
Cordylodus spp.
A conodont genus recognised mainly from microscopic oral elements used to correlate Cambrian–Ordovician rocks.
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CCoscinocyathus
Coscinocyathus dianthus and related species
An Early Cambrian archaeocyath with a porous double-walled cup and internal septa and tabulae.
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DDailyatia
Dailyatia ajax and related species
A tommotiid known from ribbed phosphatic sclerites whose arrangement is reconstructed from separate plates.
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DDictyocyathus
Dictyocyathus tenerrimus and related species
An archaeocyath cup with porous walls and a fine skeletal lattice in the intervening space.
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DDictyonema
Dictyonema
A colonial graptolite that built a branching net of tubes inhabited by many tiny filter-feeding zooids.
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DDidymograptus
Didymograptus murchisoni
A two-branched Ordovician graptolite colony whose rapidly changing species help correlate marine rock successions.
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DDinomischus
Dinomischus isolatus
A stalked Cambrian animal with a cup-shaped body and a crown of repeated bracts.
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DDrepanodus
Drepanodus
An Ordovician conodont genus whose type species Drepanodus arcuatus was revised from Baltic topotypes and Swedish collections.
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DDrepanoistodus
Drepanoistodus pervetus and related species
A conodont genus identified from curved oral elements, with one early species near the Cambrian–Ordovician boundary.
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FFacivermis
Facivermis yunnanicus
A tube-dwelling lobopodian with five spiny front limbs and a hooked rear anchor.
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FFurnishina
Furnishina furnishi and related species
A Cambrian paraconodont known from microscopic phosphatic cones with layered growth and a basal cavity.
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GGeragnostus
Geragnostus sidenbladhi and related species
A minute agnostid distinguished by its shield proportions, shallow furrows and short pygidial axis.
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HHaikouella
Haikouella lanceolata
A fish-shaped Chengjiang animal with repeated muscles and a debated early chordate anatomy.
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HHaikouichthys
Haikouichthys ercaicunensis
A tiny Early Cambrian Chengjiang chordate with paired eyes, pharyngeal structures, segmented muscles and a notochord.
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HHalkieria
Halkieria evangelista
An early Cambrian animal with two end plates and three bands of overlapping sclerites, known from articulated fossils.
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HHallucigenia
Hallucigenia sparsa
A tiny Burgess Shale lobopodian with seven pairs of soft legs below and seven pairs of defensive spines above.
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HHaplophrentis
Haplophrentis carinatus and H. reesei
A hyolith whose shell, paired helens and exceptional tentacled soft anatomy inform its debated affinity.
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HHerpetogaster
Herpetogaster collinsi
A curved soft-bodied fossil with branching tentacles and a flexible attachment stolon.
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HHesperorthis
Hesperorthis
A guide to Hesperorthis, its type species, ribbed shell, Ordovician and Silurian records and the limits of size and lifestyle reconstructions.
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HHomagnostus
Homagnostus obesus and related species
A small agnostid trilobite recognised by a long pygidial axis and a combination of shallow shield furrows.
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HHurdia
Hurdia victoria
A radiodont whose broad, three-part head shield helped researchers reunite fossils once named separately.
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HHyolithellus
Hyolithellus micans
A phosphatic Cambrian tube with evidence for both upright growth in sediment and attachment to hard surfaces.
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HHyolithes
Hyolithes acutus
An Ordovician hyolith with a conical shell; opercula and paired helens occur in some fossils, while soft anatomy and ecology remain uncertain.
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HHypagnostus
Hypagnostus parvifrons
A minute agnostid whose subdued furrows and tail-axis proportions make fine preservation essential for identification.
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IIrvingella
Irvingella nuneatonensis and related species
A broad-headed trilobite known from complete dorsal shells and a changing late Cambrian species sequence.
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IIsotelus
Isotelus gigas and related species
North American asaphid trilobites include one articulated shield over 70 cm long.
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IIsoxys
Isoxys acutangulus and related species
A two-valved Cambrian arthropod with prominent eyes, swimming limbs and species-specific shell shapes.
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KKerygmachela
Kerygmachela kierkegaardi
A Greenland lobopodian with eleven pairs of gill-bearing lateral lobes and small walking limbs.
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KKingstonia
Kingstonia apion and related species
A Laurentian Cambrian trilobite whose type species and historical synonymy were reassessed in a 2026 monograph.
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KKootenia
Kootenia dawsoni and Kootenia burgessensis
A seven-segmented Cambrian trilobite with variable pygidial spines and one rare limb-bearing Burgess Shale specimen.
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KKormagnostus
Kormagnostus simplex and related species
An eyeless agnostid whose shallow shield relief and regional age terminology complicate identification and correlation.
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KKylinxia
Kylinxia zhangi
A Chengjiang arthropod whose revised three-eyed head combines raptorial front appendages with a segmented body.
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LLapworthella
Lapworthella schodackensis
A small shelly fossil known from ribbed phosphatic plates whose original arrangement remains partly uncertain.
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LLeanchoilia
Leanchoilia superlata
A Burgess Shale arthropod with eleven trunk segments and a three-flagellate frontal appendage.
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LLejopyge
Lejopyge laevigata and related species
A low-relief agnostid whose first occurrence marks the Guzhangian base at its global reference section.
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LLeptellina: type specimens, shell form and changing identifications
Leptellina
An Ordovician brachiopod genus compared across Tennessee, Nevada and China; its type species is anchored by holotype USNM 92871.
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LLingulella
Lingulella davisii and related species
A thin-shelled brachiopod whose internal pits and muscle marks distinguish it from look-alike shells.
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LLotagnostus
Lotagnostus and its Furongian species
A tiny agnostid whose changing species concepts affect proposals for correlating the upper Cambrian.
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MMaclurites
Maclurites magna
An Ordovician gastropod with a large coiled shell; rare associated opercula show how the aperture could be closed.
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MMarrella
Marrella splendens
A many-segmented Burgess Shale arthropod with paired head spines and unresolved deeper relationships.
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MMegistaspis
Megistaspis hammondi and related species
Baltic shells and a Moroccan soft-tissue fossil reveal different parts of this Ordovician trilobite genus.
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MMetaspriggina
Metaspriggina walcotti
A Cambrian chordate with a notochord, W-shaped muscles, paired eyes and seven pairs of gill bars.
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MMicragnostus
Micragnostus and related agnostid species
A small agnostid diagnosed by shield furrows, with several Cambrian records narrowed by later revisions.
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MMicromitra
Micromitra burgessensis and related species
A small brachiopod whose Burgess Shale shells preserve long mantle chaetae and frequent sponge attachment.
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MMosura
Mosura fentoni
A small hurdiid radiodont with three eyes, broad swimming flaps and an unusually differentiated posterior trunk.
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NNectocaris
Nectocaris pteryx
A soft-bodied Cambrian swimmer with two frontal appendages, lateral fins and a disputed relationship to molluscs.
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NNeoagnostus
Neoagnostus and its late Cambrian species
A tiny agnostid genus whose species-level revisions sharpen a fragmentary late Cambrian record.
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NNochoroicyathus
Nochoroicyathus mirabilis and related species
An Early Cambrian archaeocyath distinguished by the pore pattern inside its double-walled cup.
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OOdaraia
Odaraia alata
A long-bodied Burgess Shale arthropod with a bivalved carapace, many limbs and newly recognized mandibles.
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OOdontogriphus
Odontogriphus omalus
A soft-bodied Burgess Shale animal whose paired mouth teeth transformed an old fossil puzzle into a mollusc debate.
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OOlenellus
Olenellus thompsoni
An Early Cambrian trilobite whose revised species concept clarifies its 18-segment thorax and healed injuries.
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OOlenoides
Olenoides serratus
Rare Burgess Shale limbs reveal a trilobite's walking anatomy and a mechanically plausible way to groom its gills.
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OOpabinia
Opabinia regalis
A Burgess Shale animal with five stalked eyes, a grasping proboscis and repeated swimming flaps.
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OOrthambonites: an Ordovician brachiopod and a revised type name
Orthambonites
A fossil-based profile of Orthambonites, its Ordovician range, shell characters, type species and the 1993 revision that narrowed the genus.
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OOrthrozanclus
Orthrozanclus reburrus
A millimetre-scale Burgess Shale animal with a cap, rows of sclerites and spines, but no settled evolutionary address.
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OOttoia
Ottoia prolifica
A Burgess Shale priapulid whose rare gut fossils preserve a varied record of Cambrian meals.
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PPagetia
Pagetia bootes
A tiny eodiscid trilobite whose type series and growth-stage fossils illuminate different parts of its history.
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PPambdelurion
Pambdelurion whittingtoni
A large Sirius Passet lobopodian with gills, flaps and unusually detailed muscle traces.
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PParabolina
Parabolina spinulosa
A spiny olenid trilobite whose growth series and Scandinavian biozone give it a distinctive fossil record.
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PParabolinella
Parabolinella Brøgger, 1882
An olenid trilobite genus whose revised species link Cambrian and early Ordovician fossil provinces.
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PParadoxides
Paradoxides paradoxissimus
A large trilobite with a broad head, long segmented thorax and minute tail shield.
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PParoistodus
Paroistodus
An Early Ordovician conodont genus whose apparatus was reconstructed from almost 75,000 isolated elements in Swedish sections.
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PPaurorthis: type species, shell pores and uncertain identifications
Paurorthis parva
A guide to Paurorthis parva, its Dapingian type occurrence, expected shell punctae and why incomplete Ordovician specimens remain tentative.
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PPelagiella
Pelagiella madianensis and related species
A tiny Cambrian coiled shell whose mineral layers and rare bristle impressions preserve separate anatomical clues.
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PPeratagnostus
Peratagnostus Öpik, 1967
A smooth late Cambrian agnostoid distinguished by the short axis and terminal node on its tail shield.
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PPeriodon
Periodon aculeatus and related species
Minute phosphatic elements reveal a multi-part feeding apparatus and help correlate Ordovician strata.
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PPeronopsis
Peronopsis integer and related species
A widespread agnostoid trilobite genus known from small paired shields and rare soft-tissue fossils.
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PPhyllograptus
Phyllograptus typus
An Early Ordovician graptolite with a leaf-shaped four-branched colony and repeated thecae.
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PPikaia
Pikaia gracilens
A Burgess Shale animal whose muscle blocks and axial rod inform debates about early chordates.
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PProceratopyge
Proceratopyge cf. P. lata and related species
Cambrian trilobites with distinctive tail shields and a documented Antarctic growth sequence.
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PProtohertzina
Protohertzina anabarica and related forms
Tiny curved phosphatic elements whose original animal and arrangement remain uncertain.
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PProtopanderodus
Protopanderodus
An Ordovician conodont genus whose proposed feeding apparatus was reconstructed from thousands of isolated phosphatic elements.
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PProtopharetra
Protopharetra polymorpha and related species
An archaeocyath genus distinguished by porous walls and a partitioned cup interior.
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PPseudagnostus
Pseudagnostus cyclopyge and related species
Late Cambrian agnostids identified through fine details on small cephalic and tail shields.
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PPtychagnostus
Ptychagnostus atavus
A small agnostid whose first appearance anchors the Drumian boundary and regional correlations.
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RRedlichia
Redlichia takooensis and R. rex
Large early Cambrian trilobites whose articulated fossils preserve growth stages and rare soft anatomy.
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SSanctacaris
Sanctacaris uncata
A Burgess Shale arthropod with spiny front limbs and a debated position near the chelicerate stem.
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SSarotrocercus
Sarotrocercus oblita
A rare Burgess Shale arthropod whose stalked eyes and segment anatomy have been reinterpreted.
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SScolopodus: microscopic elements and a disputed type species
Scolopodus
An Ordovician conodont genus known from phosphatic elements; the apparatus of S. striatus is better understood than the type species.
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SShumardia
Shumardia granulosa and related species
A millimetre-scale Ordovician trilobite with a blind head and six free adult thoracic segments.
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SSidneyia
Sidneyia inexpectans
A large Burgess Shale arthropod with crushed animal remains preserved in its digestive tract.
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SSiphusauctum
Siphusauctum gregarium
A stalked Burgess Shale animal known from over a thousand fossils, with a calyx and proposed filtering structures.
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SStreptelasma
Streptelasma
A solitary rugose coral known from curved corallites, serial sections and a Middle Ordovician type specimen from New York.
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SSurusicaris
Surusicaris elegans
A Marble Canyon arthropod known from one fossil with a smooth carapace and 12 pairs of trunk limbs.
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TTegopelte
Tegopelte gigas
A rare, large Cambrian arthropod known from two Burgess Shale specimens; its broad dorsal shield was once mistaken for a segmented trunk.
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TTetragraptus: a four-branched Ordovician graptolite colony
Tetragraptus
A four-stiped Ordovician graptolite colony whose branching pattern and proximal anatomy are used to distinguish related forms.
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TTitanokorys
Titanokorys gainesi
A large hurdiid radiodont with a broad three-part head shield from the Burgess Shale region.
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TTokummia
Tokummia katalepsis
A long-bodied arthropod whose bivalved shell enclosed a head with mandibles and specialised limbs.
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TTorellella
Torellella laevigata and related species
A Cambrian tube fossil whose layered wall is better known than the animal that produced it.
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TTritoechia: shell anatomy, type species and Ordovician records
Tritoechia
An Ordovician brachiopod genus with fine radial ribs, occasional hollow costellae and species-specific size records.
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TTuzoia
Tuzoia retifera and related species
A spiny, net-patterned carapace conceals a body known from rare Burgess Shale soft tissues.
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VVetulicola
Vetulicola cuneata and related species
An enigmatic Cambrian animal with a plated anterior body, segmented tail and debated gill-like structures.
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WWaptia
Waptia fieldensis
A well-sampled Burgess Shale arthropod with specialised limbs and fossils carrying eggs beneath the shell.
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WWiwaxia
Wiwaxia corrugata
A small Cambrian animal protected by overlapping organic sclerites and long spines, with a soft crawling foot and toothed feeding organ.
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YYawunik
Yawunik kootenayi
A large Marble Canyon leanchoiliid with toothed, three-branched frontal appendages.
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YYohoia
Yohoia tenuis
A Burgess Shale arthropod whose elbowed great appendage changed in proportion as it grew.
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