Balhuticaris is an extinct genus of hymenocarine arthropod from North America that lived 506 million years ago during the Miaolingian epoch of the Cambrian.
Discovery and Naming[]
Eleven specimens of Balhuticaris from the Burgess Shale in Canada found between 2014 and 2018, with the genus being described in 2022 by Alejandro Izquierdo-López and Jean-Bernard Caron. Its genus name is a combination of Balhūt, a giant fish from Persian cosmography, and caris, which is Latin for crab. The specific name of its type and currently only species, voltae, is derived from volta, which means vault in Catalan, and refers to the shape of its carapace went seen from the front.
Description[]
At a length of 245 mm (9 in), Balhuticaris was the largest member of Hymenocarina, beating the previous record holder Tuzoia which had a length of 180 mm (7.1 in). It was also one of the largest arthropods of its time, only being beaten out by radiodonts such as Anomalocaris. Balhuticaris is also notable for having a highly segmented body, possessing well over 100 segments and 110 pairs of limbs, the most of any Cambrian arthropod. It also possessed a large, curved carapace that covered the front of its body and extended down further than its limbs.[1]
Classification[]
Balhuticaris belongs to the order Hymenocarina and to the family Odaraiidae. Other members of Odaraiidae include Odaraia, Jugatacaris, Fibulacaris, Pakucaris, and Nereocaris.
Paleobiology[]
Balhuticaris is believed to have lived a free-swimming pelagic lifestyle, as its carapace extending beyond its legs would have made it difficult for it to crawl on the seafloor, as well it having paddle shaped limbs and similarly shaped eyes to modern pelagic crustaceans. Balhuticaris's diet has been difficult to determine due to it not possessing any cephalic limbs. It is theorized that Balhuticaris may have swam in an inverted position, as seen in its relatives Odaraia and Fibulacaris.[1]