<i>Kaljoprion</i> – a new enigmatic jawed polychaete genus from the Upper Ordovician of Estonia

Abstract

A new Late Ordovician polychaete genus Kaljoprion, with K. laevaensis gen. et sp. nov. as the type species, is described from the Nabala Regional Stage of the Laeva-18 drill core, central Estonia. The genus has a labidognath-type apparatus with the first and second maxillae equipped with anterior denticles developed into characteristic transversal ridges. Similar dentaries are observed in the jaws of distantly related Rhytiprion, suggesting a common feeding habit of both genera and representing a case of convergent evolution among Palaeozoic polychaetes.

Keywords

• scolecodonts
• jawed polychaetes
• taxonomy
• convergent evolution
• Late Ordovician
• Estonia