Giant ( Two-Meter ) Ordovician Anomalocaridid Found In Morocco

[Oxytropidoceras]

Giant Ocean Arthropod Rivals Largest in History

By Ross Pomeroy, Real Clear Science, March 2015

http://www.realclearscience.com/journal_club/2015/03/11/giant_ocean_arthropod_rivals_largest_in_history_109127.html

Fossilised remains of human-sized 'lobster'

discovered in Morocco (The newly discovered

prehistoric species, named Aegirocassis benmoulae,

was an early ancestor of the modern spider and

the oldest giant filter-feeder on record.

The Guardian, March 11, 2015

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/mar/11/fossilised-remains-of-human-sized-lobster-discovered-in-morocco

Frankensquid creature roamed seas 480m years

ago, PhysOrg, March 11, 2015,

http://phys.org/news/2015-03-frankensquid-creature-roamed-seas-480m.html

Aegirocassis benmoulae, Yale Peabody Museum

of Natural History, YouTibe, March 11, 2015

(A presentation by Dr. Peter Van Roy describing a

new fossil anomalocaridid from the Early Ordovician

Fezouata Formation of Morocco. Dr. Van Roy is

one of the authors of a new study that has shed

light on the early evolution and development of

arthropod limbs.)

The paper is:

Van Roy, P., A. C. Daley, and D. E. G. Briggs.

Anomalocaridid trunk limb homology revealed

by a giant filter-feeder with paired flaps.

Nature. 2015. doi:10.1038/nature14256

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature14256.html

Yours,

Paul H.

Edited March 11, 2015 by Oxytropidoceras

[Auspex]

Oh WOW!

[DeepTimeIsotopes]

That's insanely awesome!

[sseth]

Pretty cool fossil