| Erratus Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| Schematic reconstruction in dorsal and ventral views | |
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| Life restoration | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Genus: | †Erratus Fu et al. 2022 |
| Type species | |
| Erratus sperare Fu et al. 2022
| |
Erratus[a] is an extinct genus of marine arthropod from the Cambrian of China. Its type and only species is Erratus sperare.[b] Erratus is likely one of the most basal known arthropods, and its discovery has helped scientists understand the early evolution of arthropod trunk appendages. Some of the stem-arthropods like radiodonts did not have legs, instead they had flap like appendages that helped them swim.[1] Erratus on the other hand had not only flaps but also a set of primitive legs.[2] It also supported the theory that the gills of aquatic arthropods probably evolved into the wings and lungs of terrestrial arthropods later in the Paleozoic.[3]
Fossils of Erratus have been found in the Chengjiang Lagerstätte of China,[4] dating to around 520 million years ago.[5] Erratus was a small, nektonic organism with a bivalved carapace that probably ate by deposit feeding or filter feeding.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "Freaky 'frankenprawns': ancient deep sea monsters called radiodonts had incredible vision that likely drove an evolutionary arms race". theconversation.com. 2020.
- ^ Fu, D.; Legg, D. A.; Daley, A. C.; Budd, G. E.; Wu, Y.; Zhang, X. (2022). "The evolution of biramous appendages revealed by a carapace-bearing Cambrian arthropod". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 377 (1847): Article ID 20210034. doi:10.1098/rstb.2021.0034. PMC 8819368. PMID 35125000.
- ^ "New fossil reveals origin of arthropod breathing system". manchester.ac. 2022.
- ^ "520-Million-Year-Old Fossil Sheds Light on Origin of Gills in Arthropods". 2022.
- ^ "Geochronological constraint on the Cambrian Chengjiang biota, South China" (PDF). nora.nerc.ac.uk.