''Wujicaris'' is an extinct genus of Early Cambrian

crustacea Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

ns from the

Maotianshan Shales The Maotianshan Shales () are a series of Early Cambrian sedimentary deposits in the Chiungchussu Formation or Heilinpu Formation, famous for their '' Konservat Lagerstätten'', deposits known for the exceptional preservation of fossilized orga ...

of China. The genus contains a single species, ''Wujicaris muelleri''.

Description

''Wujicaris'' is a crustacean known from the Chengjiang Lagerstatte, uniquely fossilised in Orsten-type preservation and known from four larval specimens in the early metanauplius stage roughly 270 μm long. It and the possibly related taxon ''

Yicaris ''Yicaris dianensis'' is a species of microscopic pancrustacean found in the Yu’anshan Formation, Yunnan Province, China. ''Yicaris discovery is notable because its age suggests that true crustaceans already existed as far back in time as ...

'' both heavily resemble the metanaupli of modern crustaceans such as

barnacles Barnacles are arthropods of the subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea. They are related to crabs and lobsters, with similar nauplius larvae. Barnacles are exclusively marine invertebrates; many species live in shallow and tidal water ...

, thus possibly suggesting the existence of

Thecostraca Thecostraca is a class of marine invertebrates containing over 2,200 described species. Many species have planktonic larvae which become sessile or parasitic as adults. The most prevalent subgroup are the barnacles (subclass Cirripedia), const ...

during the Cambrian. ''Wujicaris'' possesses a large, pointed cephalic shield with an oval structure tentatively dubbed the "dorsal organ", a pair of possibly median eyes, an unsegmented body along with five pairs of appendages, three of those being mouthparts and the other two being antennae. In addition, the labrum and hypostome are fused together, forming a large complex near the front of the organism.

Etymology

''Wujicaris'' derives from the town of Wuji, along with the word ''caris'', meaning "shrimp". The specific name, ''muelleri'' honours the late Klaus Müller, discoverer of Orsten-type preservation.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q124749821 Pancrustacea Extinct animals of Asia Cambrian crustaceans Maotianshan shales fossils