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]
Lepidocoleus Temporal range:
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Annelida |
Clade: | Pleistoannelida |
Subclass: | Errantia |
Order: | Phyllodocida |
Family: | †Lepidocoleidae |
Genus: | †LepidocoleusFaber, 1886
Species
†Lepidocoleus caliburnus
†Lepidocoleus shurikenus
Description
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The worm is tiny, only about a fraction of an inch long.[1] The creatures had two pairs of armor plates on their body, one running the length of the skeleton, and the other on the sides of the body.[1] Because of this, the worm probably could have rolled into a ball like a Trilobite.[2] References edit
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