Description

Thaumaptilon walcotti 
Problematica
Middle Cambrian
Marjum Formation
House Range, Millard County, Utah, USA

43mm pennatulacean on 102mm slab. First ever found outside the Burgess Shale.

Problematica, Soft-bodied.

See: http://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/en/fossil-gallery/view-species.php?id=122&ref=i&

Thaumaptilon is a genus of extinct frond or feather-shaped animal that has been interpreted as related to early cnidarians or modern pennatulaceans (“sea pens”). It was described from the Burgess Shale and there are similar forms at Chengjiang so it and its relatives may be known from the Early to Middle Cambrian of western North America and China. It has an intriguing similarity to more ancient Ediacaran animals.

Thaumaptilon is known from a small number of fossils found in Burgess Shale-type deposits in Canada, China and now Utah. Overall, Thaumaptilon provides important insights into the evolution and diversity of early comb jellies during the Cambrian period.