Cambrian (Stage 4–Drumian) non-trilobite arthropods from the Murero biota (Spain)
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The Murero biota in Spain, a lower to middle Cambrian site (late Cambrian Stage 4 to Drumian), is a Konservat-Lagerstätte with an extensive diversity of biomineralized and soft-bodied tissues including algae, palaeoscolecids and sponges, among others. In comparable Cambrian sites of similar age, soft-bodied arthropods constitute a significant portion of the fauna, but similar findings in the Murero biota have remained scarce. In this study, we describe 11 new species of soft-bodied arthropods from Murero and associated sites, collected between 1979 and 1999. Owing to their disarticulated nature, most taxa can only be classified broadly as Arthropoda or within major subgroups (e.g. Artiopoda). Noteworthy finds include carapaces attributed to Isoxyiidae? and a potential new species of bivalved arthropod (Waptiidae). Additionally, new specimens confirm that previously recorded carapaces belong to Tuzoia isuelaensis , a new species of the bivalved arthropod Tuzoia , one of the Cambrian's most biogeographically widely distributed genera, which is described herein. These discoveries expand the faunal diversity of the Murero biota, unique among known Cambrian Lagerstätten owing to its subtropical to temperate palaeogeographic location and its comprehensive biostratigraphic zonation that documents over 8 Myr of evolutionary history.
DOI: 10.1144/jgs2025-095
Language: English
Subfield: Paleontology
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4413616175