Occacaris oviformis
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Occacaris oviformis Fossil range: Lower Cambrian
Conservation status
Fossil
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Megacheira† Order: Pectocaridida Family: Occacarididae Genus: Occacaris Species: O. oviformis

Occacaris oviformis was a nektonic predatory arthropod from the Lower Cambrian Maotianshan shale Lagerstätte. It bears a superficial resemblance to the Cambrian arthropod, Canadaspis, though, was much smaller, and had a pair of "great appendages," with which it may have grasped prey with.

It had a bivalved carapace that covered most of its body, leaving only the last two tergites of its trunk, with the telson jutting out of the posterior end of the carapace, and the eyes, antennae, and "great appendages" jutting out of the anterior end. The spines of the great appendages are paired, setting it apart from its relatives, Fortiforceps foliosa, and Forfexicaris valida.

References

• Xian-Guang Hou, The Cambrian Fossils of Chengjiang, China: The Flowering of Early Animal Life. (Blackwell, 2004)

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