Euschizus veterinarius

“Veterinarian’s primitive cleft”
Kingdom
Microsynthera
Phylum
Plasticae
Class
Occlupanida
Order
Orthogonidectes
Family
Archignathidae
Genus
Euschizus
Species
E. veterinarius
External morphology

Integument smooth on one side, and textured on the other.  21 mm x 25 mm.

This incredibly rectangular archignathid was discovered by occlupanologist A. Leu on a bag of bandage padding in a Tennessee veterinary clinic. Of particular note is the primitive raptorial stricture; a simple asymmetric division between oral grooves, as opposed to a more developed set of oral hooks. This curious morphology evokes images of the “Hypothetical Ancestral Occlupanid” debated by scholars since the dawn of occlupanology. Could this recent species have a connection to the rise of orthogonodectids? Or are we witnessing a fusing of oral grooves, as some have theorized regarding the Fusoridae?  Its oral groove and integument also sheds more light on another tantalizing mystery- that of Cryptocolax lilidonum, which shares similar characteristics.