Temporal range: Early Cambrian to Middle Cambrian (Stage 3 to Wuliuan), 520–505 Ma[1]
PreꞒ
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S
D
C
P
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Pg
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Possible record of Late Cambrian and Ordovician period
Fossil showing underside of Wiwaxia corrugata from the Burgess Shale. From Smith (2014)
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Superphylum:
Lophotrochozoa
Phylum:
Mollusca (?)
Family:
†Wiwaxiidae Walcott, 1911
Genus:
†Wiwaxia Walcott, 1911
Species
W. corrugata (Matthew, 1899) (type)
W. foliosa Yang et al., 2014[2]
W. papilio Zhang, Smith & Shu, 2015[3]
W. taijiangensis Zhao, Qian & Lee, 1994[4]
W. sp. See Butterfield 1994, Smith 2014, Smith, Hughes et al., 2015
W. herka Conway Morris et al., 2015[5]
Wiwaxia is a genus of soft-bodied animals that were covered in carbonaceous scales and spines that protected it from predators. Wiwaxia fossils—mainly isolated scales, but sometimes complete, articulated fossils—are known from early Cambrian and middle Cambrian fossil deposits across the globe.[4][6][7] The living animal would have measured up to 5 centimetres (2 in) when fully grown, although a range of juvenile specimens are known, the smallest being 2 millimetres (0.08 in) long.[7]
Wiwaxia's affinity has been a matter of debate: Researchers were long split between two possibilities. On the one hand, its rows of scales looked superficially similar to certain scale worms (annelids); conversely, its mouthparts and general morphology suggested a relationship to the shell-less molluscs. More recently, evidence for a molluscan affinity has been accumulating, based on new details of Wiwaxia's mouthparts, scales, and growth history.[7][8]
The proposed clade Halwaxiida contains Wiwaxia as well as several similar Cambrian animals.
^Cite error: The named reference Kimming-etal-2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Yang-etal-2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^
Zhang, Zhifei; Smith, Martin R.; Shu, Degan (2015). "New reconstruction of the Wiwaxia scleritome, with data from Chengjiang juveniles". Scientific Reports. 5: 14810. Bibcode:2015NatSR...514810Z. doi:10.1038/srep14810. PMC 4595806. PMID 26443243.
^ abCite error: The named reference Zhao1994 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Morris, Simon Conway; Selden, Paul A.; Gunther, Glade; Jamison, Paul G.; Robison, Richard A. (2015). "New records of Burgess Shale-type taxa from the middle Cambrian of Utah". Journal of Paleontology. 89 (3): 411–423. Bibcode:2015JPal...89..411C. doi:10.1017/jpa.2015.26. ISSN 0022-3360. S2CID 55050961.
^Cite error: The named reference ConwayMorris1985 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abcCite error: The named reference Smith2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^
Smith, M.R. (2012). "Mouthparts of the Burgess Shale fossils Odontogriphus and Wiwaxia: Implications for the ancestral molluscan radula". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 279 (1745): 4287–4295. doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.1577. PMC 3441091. PMID 22915671.
Wiwaxia is a genus of soft-bodied animals that were covered in carbonaceous scales and spines that protected it from predators. Wiwaxia fossils—mainly...
combining the names of two members of the proposed group, Halkieria and Wiwaxia. The group was defined as a set of Early to Mid Cambrian animals that had:...
Shale organisms, such as Canadia, may also have polychaete affinities. Wiwaxia, long interpreted as an annelid, is now considered to represent a mollusc...
common spongelike animal called Chancelloria; an armored slug-like form Wiwaxia; an armored worm with a pair of brachiopod-like shells Halkieria; and another...
"probable bilaterian", if that. There is an even sharper debate about whether Wiwaxia, from about 505 million years ago, was a mollusc, and much of this centers...
"great aunt" of annelids and Wiwaxia was an "aunt" of annelids. Their claim of a close relationship between halkieriids and Wiwaxia was based on both groups'...
than "probable bilaterian". There is an even sharper debate about whether Wiwaxia, from about 505 million years ago, was a mollusc, and much of this centers...
that Odontogriphus's feeding apparatus, which is "nearly identical" to Wiwaxia's, is an early version of the molluscan radula, a chitinous "tongue" that...
Butterfield, N. J. (1990). "A reassessment of the enigmatic Burgess Shale fossil Wiwaxia corrugata (Matthew) and its relationship to the polychaete Canadia spinosa...
There has been vigorous debate about whether the Burgess Shale fossil Wiwaxia was a mollusc or an annelid. Polychaetes diversified in the early Ordovician...
has been proposed to be a member of the order Phyllodocida along with Wiwaxia, another organism from the Burgess Shale. Both were placed in a new superfamily...
among Aplacophora, Polyplacophora, Gastropoda, and the Cambrian fossil Wiwaxia corrugata". Journal of Morphology. 257 (2): 219–245. doi:10.1002/jmor.10121...
sclerites are very similar to those of its Burgess Shale contemporary Wiwaxia. Its shell is very similar to: one of the two Burgess Shale shell types...
academic who has so far published articles placing Wiwaxia closer to polychaetes, stated that Wiwaxia′s two-row feeding apparatus could not have performed...
Hyolitha, Nematomorpha, Phoronida, and Chordata. Possible molluscs include Wiwaxia and Nectocaris. About one in eight animals are problematic forms of uncertain...
arthropod class. Organisms such as the five-eyed Opabinia and spiny slug-like Wiwaxia were so different from anything else known that Whittington's team assumed...
genus of bizarre stem-group arthropod distantly related to the radiodonts. Wiwaxia, a genus of possible mollusk that had copious numbers of carbonaceous scales...
Butterfield, N.J. (1990). "A reassessment of the enigmatic Burgess Shale fossil Wiwaxia corrugata (Matthew) and its relationship to the polychaete Canadia spinosa...
confirmed polyplacophorans date back to the Early Ordovician. Kimberella and Wiwaxia of the Precambrian and Cambrian may be related to ancestral polyplacophorans...
biology Marine vertebrate List of marine aquarium invertebrate species Wiwaxia Myxozoa were thought to be an exception, but are now thought to be heavily...
putatively compared with the mandibles of an Arthropod and the mouthparts of Wiwaxia and Odontogriphus. If it were to have been a jaw, it would have been used...
within the coeloscleritophorans: the Sachitids, to which Halkieria and Wiwaxia belong, and the Chancellorids. The Ediacaran fossil Ausia has been touted...
soft bodied organisms are locally preserved, a fauna (including Naraoia, Wiwaxia and Hallucigenia) and preservation style (carbonaceous film) normally associated...
R. (2012). "Mouthparts of the Burgess Shale fossils Odontogriphus and Wiwaxia: Implications for the ancestral molluscan radula". Proceedings of the Royal...
would have been a food source for such organisms as Odontogriphus and Wiwaxia. Carroll Lane Fenton (1943). "Pre-Cambrian and Early Paleozoic algae"....
from Cambrian sediments include the minute scales of priapulid worms, Wiwaxia sclerites, and arthropod feeding parts, for example. These organisms are...
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