Lepidocoleus

Lepidocoleus
Temporal range: Late Ordovician–Late Devonian
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Clade: Pleistoannelida
Subclass: Errantia
Order: Phyllodocida
Family: †Lepidocoleidae
Genus: †Lepidocoleus
Faber, 1886
Species
  • †Lepidocoleus caliburnus
  • †Lepidocoleus shurikenus

Lepidocoleus is a genus of extinct armored annelid worm in the class Machaeridia. Two notable species are L. caliburnus or the "Excalibur worm", and L. shurikenus, or the "shuriken worm".[1] The creature had a "suit" of armor running down its body in the form of overlapping calcite crystals.[1] This worm probably lived in shallow water reefs feeding on organic waste.[2] It lived from the Hirnantian of the upper Ordovician to the Famennian of the Devonian.[3]

  1. ^ a b "Fossils of 400-million-year-old 'Excalibur worm' discovered in Australia". Livescience.com. 2 December 2021.
  2. ^ Jacquet, Sarah M.; Selly, Tara; Schiffbauer, James D.; Brock, Glenn A. (2021). "Sclerite assembly, articulation and protective system of Lower Devonian machaeridians". Papers in Palaeontology. 8. doi:10.1002/spp2.1410. S2CID 243825597.
  3. ^ "Lepidocoleus †". Mindat.org.