The earliest evolution of the animals remains a taxing biological problem, as all extant
clades are highly derived and the fossil record is not usually considered to be helpful. The …

The interrelationships and evolutionary history of molluscs have seen great advances in the
last decade. Recent phylogenetic studies have allowed alternative morphology‐based …

Molluscs comprise the second largest phylum of animals (after arthropods), occurring in
virtually all habitats. Some are commercially important, a few are pests and some carry …

Exceptionally preserved fossils provide crucial insights into extinct body plans and
organismal evolution. Molluscs, one of the most disparate animal phyla, radiated rapidly …

Gnathobasic spines are located on the protopodal segments of the appendages of various
euarthropod taxa, notably chelicerates. Although they are used to crush shells and masticate …

The paper gives an overview of the modern hypotheses on the origin of the phylum Mollusca
and the formation of its main classes. The Cambrian stage of molluscan evolution is …

The stem‐group priapulid Ottoia Walcott, 1911, is the most abundant worm in the mid‐
Cambrian Burgess Shale, but has not been unambiguously demonstrated elsewhere. High …

Molluscs are a diverse animal phylum with a formidable fossil record. Although there is little
doubt about the monophyly of the eight extant classes, relationships between these groups …

Burgess Shale-type deposits are renowned for their exquisite preservation of soft-bodied
organisms, representing a range of animal body plans that evolved during the Cambrian …

Amiskwia sagittiformis Walcott 1911 is an iconic soft-bodied taxon from the Burgess Shale [1–
3]. It was originally interpreted as a chaetognath [1], but it was later interpreted as a pelagic …