Actaeus armatus

Actaeus armatus
Temporal range: Middle Cambrian
Holotype specimen
Reconstruction of Actaeus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: †Megacheira
Order: †Leanchoilida
Family: †Leanchoiliidae
Genus: †Actaeus
Simonetta, 1970
Species:
†A. armatus
Binomial name
†Actaeus armatus
Simonetta, 1970

Actaeus is a genus of leanchoiliid megacheiran arthropod, containing the single species Actaeus armatus. It is known from a single specimen recovered from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia, Canada,[1] and it may be actually a poorly preserved specimen of Alalcomenaeus.[2] The specimen is over 6 cm long and has a body consisting of a head shield, 11 body tergites, and a terminal plate.[3] It was named after Actaeus, first king of attica, and armatus a combination of greek and latin words to describe the frontal appendages of the species.[4]

References

  1. ^ Briggs, Derek E. G.; Collins, Desmond (1988). "A Middle Cambrian chelicerate from Mount Stephen, British Columbia" (PDF). Palaeontology. 31 (3): 779–798. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  2. ^ Briggs, Derek E. G.; Collins, Desmond (1999). "The Arthropod Alalcomenaeus cambricus Simonetta, from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia". Palaeontology. 42 (6): 953–977. doi:10.1111/1475-4983.00104. ISSN 0031-0239.
  3. ^ Whittington, H. B. (May 12, 1981). "Rare Arthropods from the Burgess Shale, Middle Cambrian, British Columbia". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 292 (1060): 329–357. Bibcode:1981RSPTB.292..329W. doi:10.1098/rstb.1981.0033.
  4. ^ "Actaeus armatus. Burgess Shale Fossil Gallery". Virtual Museum of Canada. (Burgess Shale species 23). Archived from the original on March 26, 2023.