[Paleontology • 2025] Palaeocampa anthrax • An armored freshwater Lobopodian (Panarthropoda: Aysheaiidae) with chemical defenses from the Carboniferous

 Palaeocampa anthrax Meek & Worthen, 1865
A large (40 mm) Palaeocampa anthrax is depicted at the edge of a shallow inland streambed, shadowed by the lush vegetation and mist of a coal forest, flanked by several euthycarcinoids, Sottyxerxes multiplex116 (max size ~35 mm), and a pair of freshwater xiphosurans, Alanops magnificus (max size ~25 mm). The nearest ocean environment is several hundred kilometers southwest.

in Knecht, McCall, Tsai, Childers et Yu. 2025.  

DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-08483-0 

 

Abstract

Lobopodians are an evolutionary grade of panarthropods characterized by their vermiform bodies and paired, unjointed lobopodous legs. A paraphyletic group, their study is of particular significance in understanding the evolution of extant panarthropods. Found exclusively in marine deposits from the Paleozoic, the great majority of species come from Cambrian Konservat-Lagerstätten, with only a few representatives known from the Ordovician, Silurian, and Carboniferous. Here we redescribe Palaeocampa anthrax from the Carboniferous Mazon Creek (USA) and Montceau-les-Mines (France) Lagerstätten as a lobopodian. First published in 1865, nearly fifty years before the discovery of the Burgess Shale, Palaeocampa is historically the first discovered lobopod, and its presence at the slightly younger Montceau-les-Mines (Gzhelian), makes this the youngest known fossil ‘xenusiid’ lobopodian species. We present the case that Palaeocampa most likely inhabited a freshwater environment, contesting the view that Paleozoic lobopodians were exclusively marine. Palaeocampa bears biomineralized dorso-lateral and lateral sclerite sets with a unique architecture unseen in other lobopodian sclerites, which may have been capable of secreting defensive chemicals at their tips. Palaeocampa anthrax represents a major evolutionary step in lobopodians, both in environmental adaptations and in defensive abilities.

Systematic Paleontology 

Panarthropoda Nielsen, 1995

Family Aysheaiidae Walcott, 1911

†Palaeocampa Meek & Worthen, 1865

Type species: Palaeocampa anthrax Meek & Worthen, 1865, by monotypy.

Environmental reconstruction of the Montceau-les-Mines Lagerstätte with Palaeocampa anthrax.
A large (40 mm) Palaeocampa anthrax is depicted at the edge of a shallow inland streambed, shadowed by the lush vegetation and mist of a coal forest, flanked by several euthycarcinoids, Sottyxerxes multiplex116 (max size ~35 mm), and a pair of freshwater xiphosurans, Alanops magnificus (max size ~25 mm). The nearest ocean environment is several hundred kilometers southwest.

 

Richard J. Knecht, Christian R. A. McCall, Cheng-Chia Tsai, Richard A. Rabideau Childers and Nanfang Yu. 2025. Palaeocampa anthrax, An armored freshwater Lobopodian with chemical defenses from the Carboniferous. Communications Biology. 8, 1080. DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-08483-0 [23 July 2025]

https://x.com/Prehistorica_CM/status/1947947434832716068

  

[Ornithology • 2014] Elachuridae fam. n. • Discovery of a Relict Lineage and Monotypic Family of Passerine Birds | Spotted Wren-Babbler | Elachura formosa (formerly Spelaeornis formosus)

A spotted wren-babbler, Elachura formosa

(previously Spelaeornis formosus) sings its distinctive song.

 photo: Ramki Sreenivasan [doi: dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2013.1067]

Abstract

Analysis of one of the most comprehensive datasets to date of the largest passerine bird clade, Passerida, identified 10 primary well-supported lineages corresponding to Sylvioidea, Muscicapoidea, Certhioidea, Passeroidea, the ‘bombycillids’ (here proposed to be recognized as Bombycilloidea), Paridae/Remizidae (proposed to be recognized as Paroidea), Stenostiridae, Hyliotidae, Regulidae (proposed to be recognized as Reguloidea) and spotted wren-babbler Spelaeornis formosus. The latter was found on a single branch in a strongly supported clade with Muscicapoidea, Certhioidea and Bombycilloidea, although the relationships among these were unresolved. We conclude that the spotted wren-babbler represents a relict basal lineage within Passerida with no close extant relatives, and we support the already used name Elachura formosa and propose the new family name Elachuridae for this single species.

Keywords: Elachura formosa, old species, Passerida, Spelaeornis formosus, systematics, นกจู๋เต้นลายจุด

Spotted wren-babbler Elachura formosa (previously Spelaeornis  formosus);
Wuyi Shan, Jiangxi, China, April 2013 (IOZ 18251)

doi: dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2013.1067

  

Figure 1: Distribution of the spotted wren-babbler, Elachura formosa

(formerly Spelaeornis formosus). Sampling localities indicated by dots. [doi: dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2013.1067]

Alström P., Hooper D.M., Liu Y., Olsson U., Mohan D., Gelang M., Hung L.M., Zhao J., Lei F. & Price T.D. 2014. Discovery of a Relict Lineage and Monotypic Family of Passerine Birds. Biology Letters. 10 (3) doi: dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2013.1067

What's old is new again: newly discovered songbird family is ancient
  http://gu.com/p/3navv/tw via @guardian @GrrlScientist 

  New bird family discovered in Asia http://bbc.in/1c6SiNN

[Ichthyology • 2013] Redescription of Aetobatus flagellum (Bloch & Schneider, 1801), An Endangered Eagle Ray (Myliobatoidea: Myliobatidae) from the Indo–West Pacific

Abstract

The eagle ray Aetobatus flagellum (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) is redescribed based on new material from the Persian Gulf (Kuwait), Indonesia and Malaysia. A related but distinct species of Aetobatus from the western North Pacific, previously referred to as A. flagellum, is reported. Aetobatus flagellum is a medium-sized eagle ray which attains about 900 mm DW; males mature at approximately 500 mm DW. Aetobatus flagellum appears to be uncommon and restricted to estuary-influenced waters of the Indo–West Pacific. It is caught as gillnet bycatch where its habit of schooling, combined with probable small litter size, may make it particularly vulnerable to impacts from fisheries.

Keywords: Myliobatidae, Aetobatus flagellum, batoid, Indo–West Pacific, Aetobatus sp., estuarine

FIGURE 1. Aetobatus flagellum. A. original illustration from Bloch & Schneider (1801)

White, William T. & Alec B. M. Moore. 2013. Redescription of Aetobatus flagellum (Bloch & Schneider, 1801), An Endangered Eagle Ray (Myliobatoidea: Myliobatidae) from the Indo–West Pacific. Zootaxa. 3752(1): 199–213.

http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3752.1.12
http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2013/f/zt03752p213.pdf

[Paleontology] Ornithodesmus cluniculus Seeley, 1887 | 'bird link' • theropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of the Isle of Wight, England

Ornithodesmus cluniculus Seeley, 1887

photo: http://dinosaurs.wikia.com

Ornithodesmus cluniculus was first described by Harry Govier Seeley in 1887, based on a set of six fused vertebrae from the hip (sacrum), specimen number BMNH R187, found by William D. Fox in the Wessex Formation of Brook Bay. Seeley thought the bones came from a primitive bird, and gave it a name meaning "bird link", from Greek ὄρνις (ornis), "bird", en δεσμός (desmos), "link". The specific name cluniculus means "little buttock" in Latin, a reference to the small thighs indicated by the size of the specimen.

Illustration of Ornithodesmus sacrum in multiple views

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornithodesmus

Seeley, H. 1887. On a sacrum, apparently indicating a new type of Bird, Ornithodesmus cluniculus, Seeley, from the Wealden of Brook. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, 42: 206-211.