The first tomopterid, a polychaete from the Carboniferous of Scotland

Abstract
The first known example of a fossil tomopterid, Eotomopteris aldridgei, is described from the Lower Carboniferous of Granton, Edinburgh. The head bears tentacular cirri, and the trunk preserves evidence of at least 20 pairs of parapodia. The polychaete is associated with other soft-bodied and lightly skeletalized organisms including crustaceans, conodonts, an additional chordate, and branching structures which resemble hydroids. It is similar to living tomopterids and was probably pelagic. This discovery indicates that these polychaetes were well established by the early Carboniferous and probably before.

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