First evidence of attached juveniles in the solutan echinoderm Pahvanticystis from the middle Cambrian Weeks Formation (Utah, USA)

The fossil record of the Palaeozoic echinoderm class Soluta suggests they originated in the Miaolingian (middle Cam brian) of Laurentia as permanently attached suspension feeders, demonstrating a stepwise shift towards vagility in successive strata. Here, we report a new specimen of Pah v...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: HARRY J. SAVAGE, IMRAN A. RAHMAN
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of Paleobiology PAS 2025-03-01
Series:Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
Online Access:https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app70/app012282024.pdf
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Summary:The fossil record of the Palaeozoic echinoderm class Soluta suggests they originated in the Miaolingian (middle Cam brian) of Laurentia as permanently attached suspension feeders, demonstrating a stepwise shift towards vagility in successive strata. Here, we report a new specimen of Pah vanticystis cf. utahensis associated with three putative juve niles interpreted as belonging to the same species. We inter pret this as evidence of facultative attachment in juveniles of Pahvanticystis, which had not previously been reported in this taxon, but is known in the earlier genus Castericystis. Our findings indicate that attachment as a juvenile was more widespread in solutans than previously thought.
ISSN:1732-2421