Leanchoilia

Le-an-choy-le-ah.
Published on

Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Leanchoilia.

Phonetic

Le-an-choy-le-ah.

Named By

Charles Doolittle Walcott‭ ‬-‭ ‬1912.

Classification

Arthropoda,‭ ‬Megacheira,‭ ‬Leanchoilida,‭ ‬Leanchoiliidae.

Diet

Carnivore‭?

Species

L.‭ ‬superlata‭

Size

Roughly about‭ ‬5‭ ‬centimetres long.

Known locations

Canada,‭ ‬British Columbia‭ ‬-‭ ‬Burgess Shale.‭ ‬China‭ ‬-‭ ‬Yuanshan Formation.

Time Period

Cambrian.

Fossil representation

Multiple specimens.

In Depth

       Leanchoilia is a genus of Cambrian era arthropod that lived in the Cambrian seas of both Canada and China.‭ ‬Leanchoilia had a shelled segmented body with short appendages that grew from underneath.‭ ‬These appendages likely served as the anchor points for gills that would have extracted oxygen from the water.‭ ‬The eyes of Leanchoilia were on the‭ ‬end of stalks that grew out from the head,‭ ‬and two larger appendages that grew from the underside of the head had three small tentacle like feelers upon the end.‭ ‬These appendages were almost certainly the primary food gathering apparatus,‭ ‬either snatching smaller organisms as they swam through the water,‭ ‬or feeling around for particles of organic matter.

       At the time of writing there are two named species of Leanchoilia,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬superlata and L.‭ ‬persephone.‭ ‬However a‭ ‬2007‭ ‬study by Garc�a-Bellido‭ & ‬Collins has questioned the establishment of two species,‭ ‬suggesting that the differences between them are simply sexual dimorphism,‭ ‬meaning that the two species merely represent males and females of just one species.‭ ‬If this interpretation is correct,‭ ‬then only the type species of Leanchoilia,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬superlata would be valid.

       Leanchoilia has a noted similarity to the genus Yawunik,‭ ‬and indeed both genera are classed as leanchoiliid arthropods.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬Leanchoilia guts and the interpretation of three-dimensional structures in Burgess Shale-type fossils.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Paleobiology‭ (‬journal‭) ‬28‭ (‬1‭)‬:‭ ‬155‭–‬171.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Nicholas J.‭ ‬Butterfield‭ ‬-‭ ‬2002. -‭ ‬Reassessment of the genus Leanchoilia‭ (‬Arthropoda,‭ ‬Arachnomorpha‭) ‬from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale,‭ ‬British Columbia,‭ ‬Canada.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Palaeontology‭ ‬50‭ (‬3‭)‬:‭ ‬693‭–‬709.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Diego C.‭ ‬Garc�a-Bellido‭ & ‬Desmond Collins‭ ‬-‭ ‬2007. -‭ ‬The eyes of Leanchoilia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Lethaia‭ ‬45‭ (‬4‭)‬:‭ ‬524‭–‬531.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Brigitte Schoenemann‭ & ‬Euan N.‭ ‬K.‭ ‬Clarkson‭ ‬-‭ ‬2012.

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