Priapulans

Priapulans are a phylum of worm-like animals that live on the seafloor and commonly burrow into the sediment, feeding on worms. They periodically shed a thin cuticle in order to grow, a feature that unites them with arthropods. Some species grow and live in tubes.

Only 16 living and 14 fossil species of priapulans are known (Brusca and Brusca, 2003); some of these fossils species are known from the Middle Cambrian of Utah and include the following species:

  • Ottoia prolifica
  • Selkirkia willoughbyi
  • Selkirkia cf. columbia
  • Selkirkia spencei
  • Selkirkia sp.

Gallery of Priapulans

Note: Marks on all scale bars are centimeters (cm).

Ottoia prolifica Walcott, 1911c

a close up of a yellow rock with a banana shape indent

KUMIP 144857. Spence Shale Member of the Langston Formation, Wellsville Mountains, Box Elder County, Utah. Figures 3.1, 3.2 in Conway Morris & Robison, 1986.

a close up of a gray rock with a hook shape with a dark gray tone to it

KUMIP 204770 (Part, counterpart). Marjum Formation, House Range, Millard County, Utah. Figures 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 2 in Conway Morris & Robison, 1986.

a close up of a gray rock with a hook like indent

KUMIP 314105 (Part). Marjum Formation, House Range, Millard County, Utah.

Selkirkia willoughbyi Conway Morris & Robison, 1986

a close up of a gray rock with a dark shadow of a line

KUMIP 204788 (Holotype; Part, counterpart). Marjum Formation, House Range, Millard County, Utah. Figures 4.2, 4.3 in Conway Morris & Robison, 1986.

a close up of a gray and yellow rock with a long dark shadow of a spear like figure

KUMIP 144873 (Paratype). Wheeler Formation, Drum Mountains, Millard County, Utah. Figure 4.4 in Conway Morris & Robison, 1986.

a close up of a gray rock with a gray horizontal mark going across the middle

KUMIP 144872 (Paratype). Wheeler Formation, Drum Mountains, Millard County, Utah. Figure 4.7 in Conway Morris & Robison, 1986.

a close up of a yellow rock with a dark outline of a line going across horizontally

KUMIP 144871 (Paratype). Wheeler Formation, Drum Mountains, Millard County, Utah. Figure 4.6 in Conway Morris & Robison, 1986.

a close up of a yellow rock with a circle like figure in the middle that extends to the left side of the rock

KUMIP 144867 (Paratype). Wheeler Formation, Drum Mountains, Millard County, Utah. Figure 4.5 in Conway Morris & Robison, 1986.

a yellow rock with stripes of wavy lines on it

KUMIP 144859 to 144861 (Paratypes). Wheeler Formation, Drum Mountains, Millard County, Utah. Figure No in Conway Morris & Robison, 1986.

a gray rock that has a hook like figure in the bottom left and three dark lines on the right side of the rock

KUMIP 144846 to 144850 (Paratypes; part). Wheeler Formation, Drum Mountains, Millard County, Utah. Figure 4.1 in Conway Morris & Robison, 1986.

a yellow rock with a gray mark in the middle left and in the middle of the rock

KUMIP 144854 &144855 (Paratypes). Wheeler Formation, Drum Mountains, Millard County, Utah. Figure 4.8, 4.9 in Conway Morris & Robison, 1986.

Selkirkia cf. columbia Conway Morris, 1977

a close up of a gray rock that has two gray lines. One is in the middle going to the left and the other one is in the middle above the first line and going to the top right corner

KUMIP 204363 & 204364. Spence Shale Member of the Langston Formation, Wellsville Mountains, Box Elder County, Utah. Figure 17 in Conway Morris & Robison, 1988.

a close up of a gray rock that has a dark stripe

KUMIP 204365. Spence Shale Member of the Langston Formation, Wellsville Mountains, Box Elder County, Utah.

Selkirkia spencei Resser, 1939

a gray and red rock that has a strip of dark gray in the middle left

KUMIP 144845. Spence Shale Member of the Langston Formation, Wellsville Mountains, Box Elder County, Utah. Figure 7.3 in Conway Morris & Robison, 1986.

a close up of a yellow stripe on a gray rock

KUMIP 144858. Spence Shale Member of the Langston Formation, Wellsville Mountains, Box Elder County, Utah. Figure 7.4 in Conway Morris & Robison, 1986.

Selkirkia sp. Walcott, 1911c

a close up of a darken stripe on a yellow rock
KUMIP 144844. Wheeler Formation, House Range, Millard County, Utah. Figure 7.1 in Conway Morris & Robison, 1986.