| Aquilonifer Temporal range: Wenlock ~430 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ | |
|---|---|
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| Aquilonifer spinosus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| (unranked): | stem-group Mandibulata |
| Genus: | Aquilonifer |
| Species: | A. spinosus |
| Binomial name | |
| Aquilonifer spinosus Briggs, Siveter, Siveter, Sutton & Legg 2016 | |
Aquilonifer spinosus is an extinct species of arthropod from the Silurian period. It is known from a single fossil specimen found in the Wenlock Series Lagerstätte of Herefordshire, England, in rocks about 430 million years old. The 1 cm long specimen is a stem-group mandibulate, not directly related to any living species. The many-legged, eyeless adult has ten unusual tethered appendages, interpreted as juveniles attached to the parent, in a unique form and previously unknown brooding behaviour.
Etymology
"Aquilone" is Italian for "toy kite", and the suffix "–ifer" means "to carry". "Spinosus" means "spiny" in Latin. Its discoverers have nicknamed it "the kite runner".
References
- ^ Briggs, DEG, Siveter, David J, Siveter, Derek J, Sutton, MD and Legg, D, 2016, Tiny individuals attached to a new Silurian arthropod suggest a unique mode of brood care, PNAS Online
- ^ Jonathan Webb, BBC News, 4 April 2016, Bizarre fossil hauled its offspring around 'like kites'
- ^ Cassie Martin, ScienceNews, 4 April 2016 Ancient arthropod kept its brood close
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