A New Exceptionally Preserved Cambrian Priapulid From The Chengjiang Lagerstätte

A fossil priapulid, Eximipriapulus globocaudatus new genus new species, is described from the Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstätte of Yunnan, China. The exceptional preservation of the animal reveals morphological details that allow direct comparison with extant priapulids. The body is divisible into a p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of paleontology 2014-03, Vol.88 (2), p.371-384
Main Authors: Ma, Xiaoya, Aldridge, Richard J, Siveter, David J, Siveter, Derek J, Hou, Xianguang, Edgecombe, Gregory D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asia
Cambrian
Carnivory
Chengjiang China
Chengjiang fauna
China
cladistics
Eximipriapulus globocaudatus
Far East
Fossils
functional morphology
Haifeng China
Helinpu Formation
Invertebrata
invertebrate
locomotion
morphology
new taxa
ontogeny
Paleontology
Paleozoic
Phylogenetics
phylogeny
preservation
Priapulida
taxonomy
Teeth
Vermes
Yunnan China
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Summary:A fossil priapulid, Eximipriapulus globocaudatus new genus new species, is described from the Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstätte of Yunnan, China. The exceptional preservation of the animal reveals morphological details that allow direct comparison with extant priapulids. The body is divisible into a partially eversible pharynx, a smooth collar, a scalid-bearing introvert, a neck with triangular scalids, an unsegmented trunk with annulations, and a distinctly expanded terminal region. Several specialized regions of the alimentary canal are recognized: a pharynx (lined by cuticle and bearing teeth), esophagus, midgut, hindgut, and a terminal anus. The sample includes a putative juvenile. The animal is inferred to have been an active burrower using a double-anchor strategy, practicing both deposit feeding and carnivory. Inclusion of Eximipriapulus in the most recent character matrix for cladistic analysis of fossil and Recent priapulids resolves the new genus within the priapulid crown group.
ISSN:0022-3360
1937-2337
DOI:10.1666/13-082