Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 10 March 1967:
Vol. 155. no. 3767, pp. 1246 - 1248
DOI: 10.1126/science.155.3767.1246
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Articles

Fossilization of an Ancient (Devonian) Soft-Bodied Worm

Barry Cameron 1

1 Department of Geology, Columbia University, New York 10027

A shell-boring polychaete worm was found replaced by the min eral limonite-goethite; this fossil is probably a limonite-goethite pseudo morph after pyrite, suggesting that the soft-bodied worm was originally re placed by pyrite. External structures such as a prostomium, anterior tentacle like palps, peristomial cirri, parapodia, setae bundles of the parapodia, and dorsal cirri of the parapodia are pre served. This worm resembles living members of the family Spionidae in form and habit. This discovery extends the known range of this family (Cre taceous?, Miocene to Recent) back about 365 million years to the Devo nian period.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Polychaete chaetae: Function, fossils, and phylogeny.
R. A. Merz and S. A. Woodin (2006)
Integr. Comp. Biol. 46, 481-496
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)