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A New Exceptionally Preserved Cambrian Priapulid from the Chengjiang Lagerstätte

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2015

Xiaoya Ma ,
Richard J. Aldridge ,
David J. Siveter ,
Derek J. Siveter ,
Xianguang Hou  and
Gregory D. Edgecombe
Xiaoya Ma
Affiliation:
Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Yunnan University, 2 North Cuihu Road, Kunming 650091, China, ; Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK, ;
Richard J. Aldridge
Affiliation:
Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Yunnan University, 2 North Cuihu Road, Kunming 650091, China, ; Department of Geology, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK, ;
David J. Siveter
Affiliation:
Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Yunnan University, 2 North Cuihu Road, Kunming 650091, China, ; Department of Geology, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK, ;
Derek J. Siveter
Affiliation:
Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Yunnan University, 2 North Cuihu Road, Kunming 650091, China, ; Geological Collections, University Museum of Natural History, Oxford OX1 3PW, UK, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3AN, UK
Xianguang Hou
Affiliation:
Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Yunnan University, 2 North Cuihu Road, Kunming 650091, China, ;
Gregory D. Edgecombe
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK, ;
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Abstract

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.

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Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 88 , Issue 2 , March 2014 , pp. 371 - 384
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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