Background: The Chengjiang biota is one of the most species-rich Cambrian Konservat-Lagerstätten, and preserves a community dominated by non-biomineralized euarthropods. However, several Chengjiang euarthropods have an unfamiliar morphology, are extremely rare, or incompletely preserved.
Results: We employed micro-computed tomography to restudy the enigmatic euarthropod Jianshania furcatus. We reveal new morphological details, and demonstrate that the specimens assigned to this species represent two different taxa. The holotype of J. furcatus features a head shield with paired anterolateral notches, stalked lateral eyes, and an articulated tailspine with a bifurcate termination. The other specimen is formally redescribed as Xiaocaris luoi gen. et sp. nov., and is characterized by stalked eyes connected to an anterior sclerite, a subtrapezoidal head shield covering three small segments with reduced tergites, a trunk with 15 overlapping tergites with a well-developed dorsal keel, and paired tail flukes.
Conclusions: The presence of antennae, biramous appendages with endopods composed of 15 articles, and multiple appendage pairs associated with the trunk tergites identify X. luoi nov. as a representative of Fuxianhuiida, an early branching group of stem-group euarthropods endemic to the early Cambrian of Southwest China. X. luoi nov. represents the fifth fuxianhuiid species described from the Chengjiang biota, and its functional morphology illuminates the ecological diversity of this important clade for understanding the early evolutionary history of euarthropods.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7268425 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12862-020-01625-4 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Multiple origins of dorsal ecdysial sutures in trilobites and their relatives.
Elife
October 2024
Research Center of Paleobiology, Yuxi Normal University, Yuxi, China.
Euarthropods are an extremely diverse phylum in the modern, and have been since their origination in the early Palaeozoic. They grow through moulting the exoskeleton (ecdysis) facilitated by breaking along lines of weakness (sutures). Artiopodans, a group that includes trilobites and their non-biomineralizing relatives, dominated arthropod diversity in benthic communities during the Palaeozoic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCambrian euarthropod sheds light on the origin of Artiopoda body plan.
iScience
August 2024
State Key Laboratory of the Continental Dynamics, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Early Life and Environments, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
The origin and evolution of trilobated body plan of the Artiopoda, a group of epibenthic euarthropods from Cambrian Lagerstätten, remain unclear. Here we examine old and new specimens of , one of euarthropods from the Chengjiang biota, revealing new morphological details and revising its taxonomy. possesses an elongate body with a five-segmented head, a thorax with 13-15 tergites, and a three-segmented pygidium with well-defined axial region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnveiling the ventral morphology of a rare early Cambrian great appendage arthropod from the Chengjiang biota of China.
BMC Biol
April 2024
Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Yunnan University, 2 North Cuihu Road, Kunming, 650091, People's Republic of China.
Article Synopsis
- The study focuses on Tanglangia longicaudata, an early Cambrian arthropod, using advanced μCT and 3D rendering techniques to explore its anatomy, a species previously poorly understood.
- Key findings reveal the species has unique appendages and head structure, showing both distinct features and similarities with other early euarthropods, contributing to a broader understanding of arthropod evolution.
- The research also clarifies previous studies on the species by correcting errors in identification and description, enhancing the overall knowledge of the Megacheira group.
Discovery of diverse species at the Cambrian series 2 Hongjingshao formation Xiazhuang section (Kunming, SW China) and its ecological, taphonomic, and biostratigraphic implications.
PeerJ
April 2024
Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China.
species are intermediate- to large-sized Cambrian bivalved arthropods. Previous studies have documented exclusively from the Cambrian Series 2 Stage 3 Chengjiang biota in Yu'anshan Formation, Chiungchussu Stage in SW China. In this study, we report sp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRapid growth in a large Cambrian apex predator.
Natl Sci Rev
March 2024
State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics and Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Early Life and Environment, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China.
Despite the importance of ontogenetic data on early diverging euarthropods to our understanding of the ecology and evolution of past life, the data are distinctly lacking, as reconstructing life histories of fossil animals is often challenging. Here we report the growth trajectory of frontal appendages of the apex predator , one of the most common radiodont arthropods from the early Cambrian Chengjiang biota (. 520 Ma) of China.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!