Hermit arthropods 500 million years ago?

Research Article| April 01, 2009 Hermit arthropods 500 million years ago? James W. Hagadorn; James W. Hagadorn 1Department of Geology, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts 01002, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Adolf Seilacher Adolf Seilacher 2Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information James W. Hagadorn 1Department of Geology, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts 01002, USA Adolf Seilacher 2Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 22 May 2008 Revision Received: 11 Nov 2008 Accepted: 14 Nov 2008 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2009 Geological Society of America Geology (2009) 37 (4): 295–298. https://doi.org/10.1130/G25181A.1 Article history Received: 22 May 2008 Revision Received: 11 Nov 2008 Accepted: 14 Nov 2008 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation James W. Hagadorn, Adolf Seilacher; Hermit arthropods 500 million years ago?. Geology 2009;; 37 (4): 295–298. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G25181A.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Cambrian intertidal sandstones of North America record early excursions of large animals onto tidal flats, where continuous microbial films served as preservational agents for surface tracks. Whereas biomineralized fossils are rare in such lithofacies, trace fossils from the Late Cambrian Elk Mound Group of Wisconsin illustrate how some arthropods might have managed to withstand the vicissitudes of subaerial exposure—by using foreign shells like hermit crabs. This behavior is suggested by trackways (Protichnites eremita isp. nov.), which have "tail" impressions that are obliquely segmented and always shingled to the left side. These anomalous impressions are best explained by a dextrally coiled shell intermittently touching the sediment. However, unlike in modern hermit crabs, this shell was too small to house the whole animal. It probably served only to provide a humid chamber that reduced desiccation of the animal's abdominal gills. The dorsal flexure of the tail, in connection with dextral shell coiling, resulted in left-hand shingling of the touch marks. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.