Earliest finds Species of
Tealliocaris have been described before the genus was established, originally being placed into the genus
Anthrapalaemon. In 1877, British paleontologist
Robert Etheridge, Junior became the first to study fossils of
Tealliocaris, analysing an iron nodule containing remains of two individuals discovered by James Connie (a collector of the Geological Survey of Scotland) in
Carboniferous-aged deposits at Belhaven Bay, near
Dunbar, Scotland. Believing they were similar to remains of
Anthrapalaemon, he tentatively assigned this specimen as a new species of the genus which he named
Anthrapalaemon? woodwardi after English paleontologist
Henry Woodward. Later in 1879, Etheridge redescribed the species after studying more specimens of it found by A. Macconochie in three other southern Scottish sites, and confidently designated it as a species of
Anthrapalaemon. Two other species were first described as members of
Anthrapalaemon in 1882 by British paleontologist
Ben Peach under the names
A. etheridgii and
A. formosa respectively, with the additional erection of a subspecies of the former named
A. etheridgii var.
latus, and are based on a series of specimens found in
Glencartholm, Scotland. It was not until 1908 that Peach realized
A. woodwardi and species similar to it belong in a separate genus, which he named
Tealliocaris. The
generic name combines the surname of
Jethro Teall (the Director of the Geological Survey of Scotland at the time and Peach's former Chief) with the
Ancient Greek word (, meaning "shrimp"), with the suffix being added to distinguish this genus from
Tealia (a genus of
sea anemone currently deemed invalid). He reclassified the three
A. woodwardi,
A. etheridgii and
A. formosa as species of
Tealliocaris, and
A. etheridgii var.
latus as a subspecies within the same genus, with the
subspecific name being changed to
lata (thus renaming the subspecies as
T. e. var.
lata). The specific name of
A. etheridgii was also misspelled as
etheridgei, which would lead to this misspelling being used in later studies such as Schram (1979). In addition, Peach erects three new species which he named
T. loudonensis,
T. tarrasiana and
T. robusta respectively, and two new subspecies designated as
T. woodwardi var. and
T. robusta var., all of which are based on material collected in Scotland. In the section describing
T. woodwardi, it can be inferred that Peach intended for
T. loudonensis to be the
type species of the genus. In 2013, a paper by Neil D.L. Clark redescribing
Tealliocaris was published in which it was determined that
T. robusta is a distinct species from
T. etheridgii, and thus was reinstated as a valid name. The subspecies
T. robusta var. was determined to be invalid, as being more slender (the characteristic originally used by Peach to distinguish it) was deemed an undiagnostic trait for distinguishing between species of
Tealliocaris, and thus the supposed subspecies could not be distinguished from other
T. robusta specimens. The synonymy between
T. woodwardi and
T. loudonensis continued to be accepted, so the former remained the type species of the genus. However, Clark later found in a 2024 study with Andrew J. Ross that
T. robusta should be moved into the genus
Schramocaris, renaming it as
S. robusta, and that the specimens designated by Peach as
T. robusta var. represent a separate species within the genus
Tealliocaris. Therefore,
T. robusta var. was renamed as
T. weegie, naming it after the people of
Greater Glasgow in the local dialect. Clark and Ross also recognized another new species from Scottish specimens, one of which (GSE 13042) was originally assigned to
T. tarrasiana by Ben Peach in 1908 under the specimen number m2049c. However, because the
T. tarrasiana holotype was already synonymized with
T. woodwardi, this new species was instead named
T. briggsi.
Pseudotealliocaris A study on the Carboniferous arthropods of
The Maritimes by M.J. Copeland was published in 1957 in which three new species were described and assigned to
Tealliocaris. The first was named
T. caudafimbriata, the specific name meaning "tail fringe", with Copeland assigning two specimens to this species. Several specimens were assigned to the species named
T. barathrota, deriving the specific name from a Greek word meaning "pitted", in reference to the pits and wrinkles across the
carapace of the animal. The species
T. belli was established based on a single fossil (
GSC 10138) and named after Canadian geologist
Walter A. Bell. All specimens assigned by Copeland to these three species were collected from the
Mabou Group (then known as the Canso Group) in
Nova Scotia, Canada. In 1962, Harold Kelly Brooks analysed the figures from Copeland's 1957 study of the three Canadian species assigned to
Tealliocaris and determined that Copeland had misinterpreted the fossils, though Brooks was unable to access the actual specimens for study. Brooks found that there no significant differences were discernable between the three supposed species, and that the Canadian specimens represent only one species. Furthermore, he states that this species differs from other known
Tealliocaris in having long anterolateral (orbital) spines and large branchiolateral keels on the carapace. Based on this, Brooks establishes the genus
Pseudotealliocaris, renaming
Tealliocaris caudafimbriata as
Pseudotealliocaris caudafimbriata and designating it as the type species of the genus, while
T. barathrota and
T. belli were declared as junior synonyms of this species. Later authors would add more species to this genus; Frederick Schram moved
Tealliocaris etheridgii into this genus as
P. etheridgei in 1979, later established the species
P. palincsari in 1988, and
P. holthuisi was named in 2010 by Mohammed Irham and colleagues. A redescription of
Tealliocaris by Neil D.L. Clark published in 2013 found that the features used by Brooks in 1962 to distinguish the genus from
Pseudotealliocaris are actually present on Scottish specimens of
Tealliocaris, including the type species
T. woodwardi. Therefore, it was announced that
Pseudotealliocaris is a junior synonym of
Tealliocaris. Though the Canadian specimens were noted to be poorly preserved, Clark decided to retained the name
Tealliocaris caudafimbriata for them until specimens preserving more distinct diagnostic features (like spines on the scales of the
antennae) are found. The species
P. palincsari and
P. holthuisi were also moved into
Tealliocaris, though Clark does mention that their material should be reanalysed to confirm if such a placement is accurate. •
T. etheridgii was initially named in 1882 by Ben Peach as a species of
Anthrapalaemon. •
T. holthuisi was first described as a species of
Pseudotealliocaris in 2010 by Mohammed Irham and colleagues. The holotype is a fossil and its counterpart collective designated SDSNH 123200, and several additional specimens are designated as
paratypes. These were all collected by J.R. Jennings from the Mississippian-aged
Leitchfield Formation along Helm Creek near
Leitchfield, Kentucky. The species is named after Dutch carcinologist
Lipke Holthuis. •
T. briggsi was named by Neil D.L. Clark and Andrew J. Ross in 2024 on the basis of several specimens, including the holotype (NMS G.2015.32.912), three paratypes (including GSE 13042, a specimen initially assigned to
T. tarrasiana, now deemed a junior synonym of
T. woodwardi) and 16 other specimens. The type specimen was found in the
Tournaisian-aged lower part of the 'plant bed' of the
Ballagan Formation, at Willie's Hole in
Chirnside, Scotland. The species is named after Irish paleontologist
Derek Briggs, who found fossils at this location and worked alongside Ross in 1993. •
T. weegie was first described as a subspecies and designated
T. robusta var. by Ben Peach in 1909. In 2024, it was redescribed as a separate species within
Tealliocaris and given the name
T. weegie, named after the people of Greater Glasgow in the local dialect. The holotype (UCZM I.9430) was found in
Pendleian (regional substage corresponding to the early
Serpukhovian)-aged shales above the
Top Hosie Shale at
Bearsden, Scotland, and specimens have also been found at other Scottish sites such as Peel Burn, Red Cleugh Burn, Hindog Glen and
East Kilbride. ==References==