Journal
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Volume 377, Issue 1847, Pages -Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0030
Keywords
Cambrian; Chengjiang; heteronomy; computed tomography; exceptional preservation
Categories
Funding
- NSFC [41861134032]
- DFG [Me-2683/10-1]
- Natural Science Foundation of Yunnan Province [2015HA021, 2018FA025, 2018IA073, 2019DG050]
- Harvard China Fund
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The study focuses on the rare euarthropod Pygmaclypeatus daziensis from the Chengjiang biota, using micro-computed tomography to examine its ventral appendage organization and explore its functional ecology and evolutionary significance. The research reveals a high degree of appendage heteronomy and suggests that a nekto-benthic mode of life and scavenging/detritus feeding strategy for P. daziensis. The findings also highlight the phylogenetic significance of appendage heteronomy within Artiopoda.
The Cambrian Stage 3 Chengjiang biota in South China is one of the most influential Konservat-Lagerstatten worldwide thanks to the fossilization of diverse non-biomineralizing organisms through pyritization. Despite their contributions to understanding the evolution of early animals, several Chengjiang species remain poorly known owing to their scarcity and/or incomplete preservation. Here, we use micro-computed tomography to reveal in detail the ventral appendage organization of the enigmatic non-trilobite artiopod Pygmaclypeatus daziensis-one of the rarest euarthropods in Chengjiang-and explore its functional ecology and broader evolutionary significance. Pygmaclypeatus daziensis possesses a set of uniramous antennae and 14 pairs of post-antennal biramous appendages, the latter of which show an unexpectedly high degree of heteronomy based on the localized differentiation of the protopodite, endopodite and exopodite along with the antero-posterior body axis. The small body size (less than 2 cm), the presence of delicate spinose endites and well-developed exopodites with multiple paddle-shaped lamellae on the appendages of P. daziensis indicate a nekto-benthic mode of life and a scavenging/detritus feeding strategy. Pygmaclypeatus daziensis shows that appendage heteronomy is phylogenetically widespread within Artiopoda-the megadiverse clade that includes trilobites and their relatives with non-biomineralizing exoskeletons-and suggests that a single exopodite lobe with paddle-like lamellae is ancestral for this clade. This article is part of the theme issue 'The impact of Chinese palaeontology on evolutionary research'.
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