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Sophisticated particle-feeding in a large Early Cambrian crustacean

Nature volume 452, pages 868–871 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Most Cambrian arthropods employed simple feeding mechanisms requiring only low degrees of appendage differentiation1,2,3. In contrast, post-Cambrian crustaceans exhibit a wide diversity of feeding specializations and possess a vast ecological repertoire. Crustaceans are evident in the Cambrian fossil record, but have hitherto been known exclusively from small individuals with limited appendage differentiation4. Here we describe a sophisticated feeding apparatus from an Early Cambrian arthropod that had a body length of several centimetres. Details of the mouthparts resolve this taxon as a probable crown-group (pan)crustacean, while its feeding style, which allowed it to generate and handle fine food particles, significantly expands the known ecological capabilities of Cambrian arthropods. This Early Cambrian record predates the major expansions of large-bodied, particle-handling crustaceans by at least one hundred million years5,6, emphasizing the importance of ecological context in driving adaptive radiations.

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Figure 1: Fossil arthropod setae and setal armatures from the Early Cambrian Mount Cap Formation.
Figure 2: Mount Cap cuticular elements with discrete bounding shapes (a–h), and mandibular molar surfaces of a modern branchiopod crustacean (i–k).

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Acknowledgements

We thank S. Richter for providing the images used in Fig. 2i–k. This work is supported by the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, and a NERC studentship (to T.H.P.H).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EQ, UK,

    Thomas H. P. Harvey & Nicholas J. Butterfield

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  1. Thomas H. P. Harvey
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  2. Nicholas J. Butterfield
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Correspondence to Thomas H. P. Harvey.

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Supplementary Information

The file contains Supplementary Figures S1-S3 with Legends, Supplementary Table 1 containing specimen catalogue numbers and additional references. (PDF 1521 kb)

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Harvey, T., Butterfield, N. Sophisticated particle-feeding in a large Early Cambrian crustacean. Nature 452, 868–871 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06724

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