Pikaia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids PikaiaTemporal range: Mid Cambrian
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Pikaia
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P. gracilens
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Pikaia gracilens is regarded as the earliest known primitive chordate from the Middle Cambrian fossil found near Mount Pika in the Burgess Shale of British Columbia. It was discovered by Charles Walcott in 1911. Walcott classified it as a Polychaete worm. It was about 40 mm in length and swam above the sea-floor. Pikaia may have filtered particles from the water as it swam along. Only 60 specimens have been found to date.
Images for kids
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Life reconstruction of Pikaia gracilens
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Fossil specimen on display at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
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Pikaia trying to escape a brine seep at the bottom of the Cathedral Escarpment, in the Burgess Shale
See also
In Spanish: Pikaia para niños
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Pikaia Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.