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A new nektaspid euarthropod from the Lower Ordovician strata of Morocco

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2020

Francesc Pérez-Peris Open the ORCID record for Francesc Pérez-Peris [Opens in a new window] ,
Lukáš Laibl Open the ORCID record for Lukáš Laibl [Opens in a new window] ,
Lorenzo Lustri ,
Pierre Gueriau ,
Jonathan B Antcliffe ,
Orla G Bath Enright  and
Allison C Daley
Francesc Pérez-Peris*
Affiliation:
Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Lausanne, Géopolis, CH-1015Lausanne, Switzerland
Lukáš Laibl
Affiliation:
Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Lausanne, Géopolis, CH-1015Lausanne, Switzerland Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geology, Rozvojová 269, 165 00Prague 6, Czech Republic Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Albertov 6, Prague, 12843, Czech Republic
Lorenzo Lustri
Affiliation:
Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Lausanne, Géopolis, CH-1015Lausanne, Switzerland
Pierre Gueriau
Affiliation:
Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Lausanne, Géopolis, CH-1015Lausanne, Switzerland
Jonathan B Antcliffe
Affiliation:
Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Lausanne, Géopolis, CH-1015Lausanne, Switzerland
Orla G Bath Enright
Affiliation:
Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Lausanne, Géopolis, CH-1015Lausanne, Switzerland
Allison C Daley
Affiliation:
Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Lausanne, Géopolis, CH-1015Lausanne, Switzerland
*
Author for correspondence: Francesc Pérez-Peris, Email: francesc.perezperis@unil.ch
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Abstract

Nektaspids are Palaeozoic non-biomineralized euarthropods that were at the peak of their diversity during the Cambrian Period. Post-Cambrian nektaspids are a low-diversity group with only a few species described so far. Here we describe Tariccoia tazagurtensis, a new species of small-bodied nektaspid from the Lower Ordovician Fezouata Shale of Morocco. The new species differs from the type (and only other known) species from the Ordovician strata of Sardinia (Italy), Tariccoia arrusensis, in possessing more pointed genal angles, a cephalon with marginal rim, a pygidium with anterior margin curved forwards, a rounded posterior margin, and longer and more curved thoracic tergites. The two specimens of T. tazagurtensis sp. nov. show remains of digestive glands that are comparable to those seen in the Cambrian nektaspid Naraoia. The rare occurrence of T. tazagurtensis sp. nov. in the Fezouata Shale and the distribution of other liwiids suggest that these liwiids were originally minor members of open-marine communities during the Cambrian Period, and migrated into colder brackish or restricted seas during the Ordovician Period.

Keywords

TariccoiaNektaspidaEuarthropodaOrdovicianMoroccoFezouata Shale
Type
Original Article
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 158 , Issue 3 , March 2021 , pp. 509 - 517
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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