Ordovician Radiation Furca mauretanica Marellomorph with Preserved Limbs

Description: This is a fine example of an Ordovician marellomorph known thus far as Furca mauretanica. The Marellomorpha are a small group of rare, primitive arthropods. The order was named after the Burgess Shale genus Marella (see my other offerings) and also includes Mimetaster (again, see my other specimens). The genus was first known from specimens found in Bohemia (Furca bohemica). In 2004 a new species was been found in the Upper Fezouata Formation deposits near Zagora, Morocco. The cuticle of specimens is typically preserved as a deep red or reddish-brown mineralization. Most specimens consist primarily of the cephalic shield and a trunk would projecting out between the posterior pair of extensions. Very few examples are offered, but new ones occasionally come to light. When this one was found several details not often seen were also observed: several pairs of walking limbs and a well-segmented abdomen. I have been advised by the describer of the taxon that it will most likely be placed in a different genus, hence the quotation marks around the current genus.