Eldonia ludwigii Walcott, 1911
Ambulacraria
Cambroernida
Eldoniidae
Paropsonemida
Middle Cambrian
Burgess Shale
British Columbia, Canada
Length:
Thie enigmatic soft bodied animal from the Burgess Shale had a radial symmetry with a coiled gut. It was originally described as a holothurian (sea cucumber), then often pictured as a pelagic jellyfish-like animal. However, there are evidences that it was a benthic form that lived at the bottom of the sea. Another interpretation is as a lophophorate. Eldonia apparently survived to the ordovician period.
April 23, 2017
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