Pahvantia hastata
Vendor: Gold Bugs
SKU Number: SQ7582722
Plates from the head shields of Pahvantia hastata, a Middle Cambrian radiodont from the Wheeler Shale Formation of Utah.
This is an amazing association of three head shields, preserved in vivid red, that are likely molts.
Pahvantia was an Anomalocaris cousin that is thought to have been a filter feeder, combing tiny organisms and detritus from the water column rather than being an active predator.
This plate also showcases the crown-like attachment at the back of the shield. Pahvantia parts are rare, so associations like this are hard to find.
Full dimensions are listed below.
Vendor: Gold Bugs
SKU Number: SQ7582722
Plates from the head shields of Pahvantia hastata, a Middle Cambrian radiodont from the Wheeler Shale Formation of Utah.
This is an amazing association of three head shields, preserved in vivid red, that are likely molts.
Pahvantia was an Anomalocaris cousin that is thought to have been a filter feeder, combing tiny organisms and detritus from the water column rather than being an active predator.
This plate also showcases the crown-like attachment at the back of the shield. Pahvantia parts are rare, so associations like this are hard to find.
Full dimensions are listed below.
Vendor: Gold Bugs
SKU Number: SQ7582722
Plates from the head shields of Pahvantia hastata, a Middle Cambrian radiodont from the Wheeler Shale Formation of Utah.
This is an amazing association of three head shields, preserved in vivid red, that are likely molts.
Pahvantia was an Anomalocaris cousin that is thought to have been a filter feeder, combing tiny organisms and detritus from the water column rather than being an active predator.
This plate also showcases the crown-like attachment at the back of the shield. Pahvantia parts are rare, so associations like this are hard to find.
Full dimensions are listed below.
Additional Information
Pahvantia hastata was a Radiodont with raptorial fore-limbs used for filter feeding on microscopic organisms floating near the ocean surface. It has been suggested that the first planktonic animals in the Cambrian initiated the biological pump, which, in turn, fueled the diversification of complex animal communities on the seafloor.
The Radiodonts were a group of Arthropods that appeared early in the Cambrian and appear to have been the first free-swimming raptorial predators, a role subsequently taken on by animals such as Sharks, Fish, Squid, and marine Tetrapods, which appeared to place them firmly at the top of the Cambrian food-chain. These Radiodonts had rather complex exoskeletons, which tended to become disarticulated before being preserved.
Recently, large Radiodonts from the early Cambrian have been discovered that have feeding organs adapted not for raptorial predation but for filter feeding. Filter feeding has repeatedly appeared in the largest members of other groups of raptorial marine predators, including Sharks, Whales and several types of Fish, making this a predictable occurrence in large raptorial Radiodonts, a view that was supported by the discovery of a second such species, the two meter long Aegirocassis from the Early Ordovician.
References:
Pahvantia hastata - Sciency Thoughts
Pahvantia hastata - University of New England
