''Bredocaris'' is an extinct genus of

pancrustacean Pancrustacea is the clade that comprises all crustaceans and all hexapods (insects and relatives). This grouping is contrary to the Atelocerata hypothesis, in which Hexapoda and Myriapoda are sister taxa, and Crustacea are only more distantly r ...

arthropod from the Cambrian

Orsten The Orsten fauna are fossilized organisms preserved in the Orsten lagerstätte of Cambrian (Late Miaolingian to Furongian) rocks, notably at Kinnekulle and on the island of Öland, all in Sweden. The initial site, discovered in 1975 by Klaus M� ...

of Sweden. The genus contains a single species, ''Bredocaris admirabilis'', in turn the only member of the family Bredocarididae and the order Orstenocarida.

Etymology

''Bredocaris'' is named for the farm of St. Bredegården located north of the type locality, and for the Greek word χαρίς (''kharís''), meaning "crab." The species name ''admirabilis'' from the Latin word meaning "admirable" derives from the extremely delicate preservation of the specimen.

Description

''Bredocaris'' is roughly 800 micrometers long, with the carapace roughly half as long, rounded and fused with the four anteriormost limb-bearing segments, and has a possible median eye consisting of two blisters connected by a bridge with a median pore. The front two appendage pairs, which may represent antennae, are both different to the posterior ten pairs of appendages which seem to form a filter apparatus. The labrum is large and noticeably projects from the body anterior of the molar process. The abdominal segment has a pair of furcae, alongside a tiny spine dorsoterminally above the anus. Six distinct larval stages of ''Bredocaris'' are known from more than 30 specimens, which alongside other features such as the complete filter apparatus and shape of the fourth appendage pair seems to indicate that the final stage was the adult form of this genus.

Distribution

All specimens of ''Bredocaris'' so far have been found in

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...

, Sweden near a road between Stenstorp and Dala.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21355143 Prehistoric crustacean genera Fossils of Sweden Pancrustacea Cambrian crustaceans Fossil taxa described in 1983