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Presentation Time: 9:00 AM-6:30 PM

A NEW ENIGMATIC ARTHROPOD FROM THE CAMBRIAN WEEKS FORMATION, UTAH


HEGNA, Thomas1, LEROSEY-AUBRIL, Rudy2, BONINO, Enrico3 and KIER, Carlos3, (1)Geology Department, Western Illinois University, 1 University Circle, 113 Tillman Hall, Macomb, IL 61455, (2)Senckenberg Research Institute, Senckenberganlage 25, Frankfurt-am-Main, 60325, Germany, (3)Back to the Past Museum, Carretera Cancun, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, 77580, Mexico, ta-hegna@wiu.edu

The Weeks Formation is one of three Cambrian Konservat-Lagerstätten that occur in the House Range of central Utah. While the trilobites from this locality have long been known to paleontologists, the soft-bodied fauna is only beginning to receive scientific attention. Here we describe two specimens belonging to an enigmatic soft-bodied arthropod. The first specimen is an ensemble of appendages, which comprises two pairs of antennae-like structures and six robust, grasping-like appendages. The second specimen is an isolated appendage of the grasping type. The most complete specimen has undergone significant post-mortem distortion/disarticulation, as evidenced by its ambiguous plane of symmetry. We discuss various hypotheses about its morphology and affinities. This includes the possibility that this ensemble of appendages belonged to a single organism having either two pairs of antennae or a single pair of biramous antennae.

Session No. 27--Booth# 90

Paleontology: Descriptive Paleontology, Biogeography, and Biostratigraphy (Posters)
Sunday, 4 November 2012: 9:00 AM-6:30 PM
Hall B (Charlotte Convention Center)
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 44, No. 7, p.87
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