Hegna co-authors journal article revealing internal anatomy of extinct arthropod

Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences Assistant Professor Thomas Hegna is one of five authors of an article, “New Look at Concavicaris Woodfordi,” that reveals the internal anatomy of a long-extinct arthropod, in the journal Palaeontologia Electronica.

A CT-scan of the Devonian-aged arthropod fossil, found in Oklahoma, revealed some of its internal anatomy mineralized by different minerals. The study reveals new anatomical details, including the structure of the shield, the circulatory, digestive and reproductive systems and the appendages.

“Concavicaris belongs to a group of arthropods called thylacocephalans that went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous. Most fossil thylacocephalans are only known from fossils of their shell – very little about their anatomy is known. This fossil helps us better understand what was hidden inside the shell," Dr. Hegna explained.

While not entirely resolving the puzzle of thylacocephalan anatomy, the study does provide new important information that will be crucial to reconstructing the evolution and the affinities of this group, the article’s conclusion states.

Palaeontologia Electronica, the longest running, open-access, peer-reviewed electronic journal that covers all aspects of palaeontology.

The paper is available online