image: A new fossil (Orthrozanclus reburrus) from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale (c 510 Ma), British Columbia, Canada, that serves to link the well-known halkieriids and wiwaxiids and so define the halwaxiids. Two striking features are the shell near the front, and the rim of prominent spines that probably served to protect this animal from attack. This image relates to an article that appeared in the March 2, 2007, issue of the journal Science, published by AAAS. The study, by Dr. Simon Conway Morris and colleagues of University of Cambridge in Cambridge, UK, was titled "Halwaxiids and the Early Evolution of the Lophotrochozoans." view more
Credit: Photo copyright <i>Science</i>-AAAS.