| Cambrocaris Temporal range: Furongian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N | |
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| A partial reconstruction of Cambrocaris | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| (unranked): | Tactopoda |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Genus: | †Cambrocaris Waloszek and Szaniawski, 1991 |
| Species: | †C. baltica |
| Binomial name | |
| †Cambrocaris baltica Waloszek and Szaniawski, 1991 | |
Cambrocaris is an extinct genus of Upper Cambrian arthropods from Poland. The genus contains a single species, Cambrocaris baltica.
Description
Cambrocaris is an arthropod roughly 2 mm (0.079 in) long, known from a single, partial specimen with Orsten-type preservation. The preserved section is 800 micrometers long and bears eight pairs of appendages with the anterior three being complete and further back only being partially preserved, the first antennae being the longest appendages. The fossil seems to be only lightly sclerotised, with no distinct cutinized areas. It is unknown whether Cambrocaris had a cephalic shield due to the dorsal area being partially damaged, however it is improbable for it to have had a large shield, with either a smaller shield comparable to Martinssonia or a lack of the feature entirely being the most plausible possibilities. Cambrocaris also had a large hypostome, with a bilobed bulge reaching the mouth.
Ecology
Cambrocaris, while possibly being benthic due to being preserved in sediment, nevertheless shows adaptations for swimming, and the presence of a mouth and lack of intricate bristles show that it presumably caught prey and swallowed it whole.
Etymology
Cambrocaris is named as such due to its Cambrian origin, and the species name baltica derives from its location on the Hel Peninsula, in the Baltic Sea.
References
- ^ Waloszek, Dieter; Szaniawski, Hubert (October 1991). "Cambrocaris baltica n. gen. n. sp., a possible stem-lineage crustacean from the Upper Cambrian of Poland". Lethaia. 24 (4): 363–378. Bibcode:1991Letha..24..363W. doi:10.1111/j.1502-3931.1991.tb01488.x.