Euthycarcinoidea
| Euthycarcinoidea Temporal range: Cambrian–Middle Triassic |
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| 1914 illustrations of Euthycarcinus kessleri by Anton Handlirsch | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Incertae sedis |
| Subclass: |
Euthycarcinoidea Gall & Grauvogel, 1964 |
| Order: |
Euthycarcinida Gall & Grauvogel, 1964 |
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Euthycarcinoidea was a enigmatic group of possibly amphibious arthropods that ranged from Cambrian to Triassic times. Fossils are known from Europe, North America, Argentina and Australia.
The euthycarcinoid body was divided into a cephalon (head), preabdomen, and postabdomen. The cephalon consisted of two segments and included mandibles, antennae and presumed eyes. The preabdomen consisted of five to fourteen tergites, each having up to three somites. Each somite had in turn a pair of uniramous, segmented legs. The postabdomen was limbless and consisted of up to six segments and a terminal tail spine.
Due to its particular combination of characteristics, the position of the Euthycarcinoidea within the Arthropoda has been ambiguous; previous authors have allied euthycarcinoids with crustaceans (interpreted as copepods, branchiopods, or an independent group), with trilobites, or the merostomatans (horseshoe crabs and sea scorpions). However, the general features and the discovery of fossils from this group in Cambrian rocks suggest that its may have given rise to the mandibulates, the group that includes the myriapods (centipedes, millipedes and the like), crustaceans, and hexapods (insects, etc.).
Euthycarcinoidea
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