Variation in appendages in early Cambrian bradoriids reveals a wide range of body plans in stem-euarthropods

Traditionally, the origin and evolution of modern arthropod body plans has been revealed through increasing levels of appendage specialisation exhibited by Cambrian euarthropods. Here we show significant variation in limb morphologies and patterns of limb-tagmosis among three early Cambrian arthropo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Communications biology 2019-09, Vol.2 (1), p.329-329, Article 329
Main Authors: Zhai, Dayou, Williams, Mark, Siveter, David J., Harvey, Thomas H. P., Sansom, Robert S., Gabbott, Sarah E., Siveter, Derek J., Ma, Xiaoya, Zhou, Runqing, Liu, Yu, Hou, Xianguang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/158/2462
631/181/414
Animals
Appendages
Arthropoda
Arthropods
Arthropods - anatomy & histology
Biology
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Convergence
Evolution
Extremities - anatomy & histology
Extremities - diagnostic imaging
Life Sciences
Phylogeny
Specialization
Variation
X-Ray Microtomography
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Summary:Traditionally, the origin and evolution of modern arthropod body plans has been revealed through increasing levels of appendage specialisation exhibited by Cambrian euarthropods. Here we show significant variation in limb morphologies and patterns of limb-tagmosis among three early Cambrian arthropod species conventionally assigned to the Bradoriida. These arthropods are recovered as a monophyletic stem-euarthropod group (and sister taxon to crown-group euarthropods, i.e. Chelicerata, Mandibulata and their extinct relatives), thus implying a radiation of stem-euarthropods where trends towards increasing appendage specialisation were explored convergently with other euarthropod groups. The alternative solution, where bradoriids are polyphyletic, representing several independent origins of a small, bivalved body plan in lineages from diverse regions of the euarthropod and mandibulate stems, is only marginally less parsimonious. The new data reveal a previously unknown disparity of body plans in stem-euarthropods and both solutions support remarkable evolutionary convergence, either of fundamental body plans or appendage specialization patterns. Dayou Zhai et al. show marked variation in limb morphology and patterns in limb-tagmosis in three early Cambrian bradoriid arthropods. This suggests remarkable evolutionary convergence, either of fundamental body plans or appendage specialization patterns.
ISSN:2399-3642
2399-3642
DOI:10.1038/s42003-019-0573-5