Martinssonia

Martinssonia is an extinct genus of Cambrian arthropod from the Orsten Lagerstätte.

Description

Martinssonia is a small arthropod, with eight pairs of appendages and ten segments including the eyeless head. It has a pair of antennae, twelve biramous appendages on its head and front two body segments and a final pair of uniramous appendages on its third segment. Martinssonia also seems to have a pleotelson, similar to modern crustacean larvae.

Ecology

Martinssonia was presumably a benthic detritivore, stirring up food particles from the seafloor.

Etymology

Martinssonia is named for Anders Martinsson, a former Professor of Palaeobiology at Uppsala University in Sweden. The species name, elongata, is derived from its long trunk.

Distribution

Martinssonia is known from twenty-one specimens of different larval forms, all from the Orsten Lagerstätte in Sweden, alongside thirteen specimens now referred to as ''Musacaris''