Schochia

Schochia is an extinct genus of arthropod known from the Cambrian Burgess Shale in British Columbia, Canada. It is classified within the stem-group Chelicerata, meaning it's related to, but not directly within, the modern chelicerate group (which includes spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and mites).

Schochia had a segmented body and numerous pairs of biramous (two-branched) appendages. These appendages consisted of a walking leg branch and a gill branch. The body was divided into a head shield, a trunk region, and a telson (tail spine). The head shield possessed a pair of large eyes, and a series of smaller appendages likely used for feeding.

The significance of Schochia lies in its contribution to understanding the evolution of arthropods, particularly the chelicerates. Its morphology provides valuable insights into the ancestral state of this important group and helps to trace the evolutionary history of its distinctive features. Schochia helps illuminate the diversification of arthropods during the Cambrian explosion. The animal was relatively small, typically measuring a few centimeters in length. Fossils indicate it likely lived on or near the seafloor. Further research and discoveries may continue to refine our understanding of Schochia's place in the arthropod evolutionary tree.