Fossil frontal appendage of C. cf. camurus (=Mureropodia apae)
Presumed grasping motion of C. camurus
Sizes of various Caryosyntrips specimens, based on the interpretation as radiodonts.[6]
Caryosyntrips is known only from its 14-segmented frontal appendages, which resemble nutcrackers, with the endite (ventral spine)-bearing margin facing each other, and the bell-shaped bases might represent movable articulations with the animal's head.[1] Details of the endites, terminal spines, segmental boundaries and outer margins differ between species.[1] It is thought to have used their frontal appendages in a scissor-like grasping or slicing motion, and were probably durophagous, feeding on hard-shelled organisms.[1] Other structures remain unknown, although a specimen with paired appendages possibly contain other fragmental head sclerites as well.[2][3]
The size of Caryosyntrips differed between each species. The largest species is C. serratus which is estimated around 20.5–30.2 cm (8.1–11.9 in) long. Other species are much smaller, with the body lengths of C. camurus and C. durus estimated up to 13.7–20.2 cm (5.4–8.0 in) and 12.2–17.9 cm (4.8–7.0 in) respectively. The largest possible specimen (MPZ 2009/1241), identified as C. cf. camurus, would have belonged to an individual measuring between 36.7–54 cm (1.20–1.77 ft) long.[7]
Taxonomic affinities
As of 2010s, Caryosyntrips was long considered to be a basal radiodont of uncertain position, usually resolved in a polytomy between euarthropod and radiodont branches.[8][9][10][6][11][12] however more recent papers have found that it may sit outside of the monophyletic Radiodonta all together.[12][13] Due to the unusual morphology of the frontal appendages and the limited extent of known remains, its position within the arthropod stem-group remains uncertain.[1][13]
![Sizes of various Caryosyntrips specimens, based on the interpretation as radiodonts.[6]](File:20210215_Caryosyntrips_size.png)
