Phyllocarid crustaceans from the Silurian Eramosa Lagerstätte (Ontario, Canada): taxonomy and functional morphology

Abstract

Two species of well-preserved phyllocarid crustaceans,Ceratiocaris macrouran. sp. andCeratiocaris papilioSalter, occur in the Eramosa Formation Lagerstätte of Ontario, Canada, represented by several dozen articulated fossils preserving limbs and thoracic segmentation.Ceratiocaris macrouran. sp. is distinguished by possession of an exceptionally elongate telson in relation to its body length.Ceratiocaris papiliopreserves fine detail of the abdominal scale-like ornamentation, allowing reinterpretation and enhanced characterization of this key feature.Ceratiocaris papiliohas a wide paleogeographic distribution across Laurentia but is restricted to shallow marine depositional settings within the middle Silurian.