''Loricicaris'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

with a single species, ''Loricicaris spinocaudatus'' from the

Burgess Shale The Burgess Shale is a fossil-bearing deposit exposed in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada. It is famous for the exceptional preservation of the soft parts of its fossils. At old (middle Cambrian), it is one of the earliest fos ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

described in 2013.

Description

The longest individuals reach around in length. The front of the body was covered in a convex bivalved carapace which enveloped around 65% of the total body length. The head bore a pair of robust antennae, which was made up of at least 10 segments/podomeres, with the antennae segments bearing

setae In biology, setae (; seta ; ) are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Depending partly on their form and function, protostome setae may be called macrotrichia, chaetae ...

(hair-like structures). The head possibly bore a pair of stalked eyes. The head morphology is poorly known, but may have been made up of at minimum three segments with an anterior sclerite, whether a hypostome was present is unclear. The head also bore a pair of grasping appendages similar in morphology to those of ''

Branchiocaris ''Branchiocaris'' is an extinct genus of Cambrian bivalved arthropod. The type and best known species, ''Branchiocaris pretiosa,'' was described from the Burgess Shale of British Columbia, Canada, in 1929, originally placed in '' Protocaris'', a ...

.'' Running through the body was a straight gut tube. The body was made up of somites/segments, of which 14-16 pairs were present under the carapace and 32 pairs ran behind the carpace. Running along the body were pairs of

uniramous The arthropod leg is a form of jointed appendage of arthropods, usually used for walking. Many of the terms used for arthropod leg segments (called podomeres) are of Latin origin, and may be confused with terms for bones: ''coxa'' (meaning hip, : ...

(single branched) appendages, which were only made up of exopods (the outer branch of a typical biramous/two branched arthropod limb), these changed in morphology from being roughly triangular flaps to being filamented rods towards the posterior of the animal. The body ended with a pair of

telson The telson () is the hindmost division of the body of an arthropod. Depending on the definition, the telson is either considered to be the final segment (biology), segment of the arthropod body, or an additional division that is not a true segm ...

spines, which were themselves covered in fine spines.

Taxonomy

Remains of the species were originally attributed to ''Branchiocaris'', to which ''Loricicaris'' is thought to be closely related. Both of these genera are now placed in Protocarididae, alongside '' Tokummia'' and '' Protocaris''. Protocarididae has been placed as part of

Hymenocarina Hymenocarina is an Order (biology), order of extinct marine arthropods known from the Cambrian. They possess bivalved carapaces, typically with exposed posteriors. Members of the group are morphologically diverse and had a variety of ecologies, i ...

along with many other bivalved arthropods.

References

Cambrian arthropods Hymenocarina Fossil taxa described in 2014 {{Hymenocarina