Evidence of Priapulid Scavenging From the Early Cambrian Chengjiang Deposits, Southern China

Han, Jian; Zhang, Zhifei; Liu, Jianni; Shu, Degan

doi:10.2110/palo.2006.p06-117r

Cited by 19 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Given their low preservation potential, it is likely that they represented a significant component of the ecosystem, probably as detritivores or scavengers (e.g. Han et al. 2007 b ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diverse middle Ordovician palaeoscolecidan worms from the Builth‐Llandrindod Inlier of central Wales

Botting

Muir

Roy³

et al. 2012

Palaeontology

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Palaeoscolecidan worms are rare, Early Palaeozoic fossils with uncertain affinities within the Ecdysozoa. They are locally abundant in the Cambrian and scattered in the Early Ordovician, but very sparse thereafter. Forty-four specimens have been collected from the Middle Ordovician of the BuilthLlandrindod Inlier of Mid Wales and include well-preserved material assigned to seven new genera, with four additional species in open nomenclature. An additional specimen from the Arenig Pontyfenni Formation of South Wales is also described in open nomenclature. The total demonstrates much greater palaeoscolecid diversity than hitherto suspected for this time. The specimens are preserved as cuticle fragments in shales and siltstones, often of submillimetre size but in many cases with excellent preservation. The level of detail preserved in some is equal to that found in Cambrian phosphatized faunas. The new approach to collecting, and the recognition that this material can yield taxonomically useful information, opens new avenues for palaeoscolecidan research in siliciclastic environments. The new taxa are the following: Radnorscolex bwlchi gen. et sp. nov., Aggerscolex murchisoni gen. et sp. nov., Bullascolex inserere gen. et sp. nov., Wernia eximia gen. et sp. nov., Ulexiscolex ormrodi gen. et sp. nov., Pluoscolex linearis gen. et sp. nov. and Loriciscolex cuspidus gen. et sp. nov. The high diversity, and the taxonomic separation from known groups described primarily from Cambrian carbonates, implies that palaeoscolecidans either diversified significantly during the Ordovician or were taxonomically segregated between carbonate and siliciclastic settings. Palaeobiological findings also include confirmation that some palaeoscolecid basal cuticles were solid and others reticulate, plates (and platelets) could form by lateral accretion, plates were in part primarily phosphatic and in part organic and that in at least some groups, platelet secretion occurred external to plate secretion.

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“…Given their low preservation potential, it is likely that they represented a significant component of the ecosystem, probably as detritivores or scavengers (e.g. Han et al. 2007 b ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diverse middle Ordovician palaeoscolecidan worms from the Builth‐Llandrindod Inlier of central Wales

Botting

Muir

Roy³

et al. 2012

Palaeontology

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“…This also constituted the rationale for the inclusion/ exclusion of taxa in our morphospace analyses; all taxa variously resolved crownward of Kinorhyncha and Loricifera were included. The implied weights tree resolved Laojieella thecata (Han et al, 2006(Han et al, , 2007c and (Palaeopriapulites + Sicyophorus) as successive plesions to the crown group plus Xiaoheiqingella and Yunnanpriapulus. These were followed by a relatively large clade of archaeopriapulids and putative palaeoscolecids, including Anningvermis, Corynetis, Louisella, Scolecofurca, Ottoia, Chalazoscolex, Cricocosmia, Tabelliscolex and Tylotites.…”

Section: Rfmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the time since the disparity of Cambrian and Recent priapulids and their allies was first investigated (Wills, ), a number of important new fossils have been described (Dong et al ., ; Han et al ., , ; Huang et al ., ; Zhang et al ., ; Maas et al ., ; Conway Morris & Peel, ; Topper et al ., ), and the phylogeny of the group has been reappraised on at least two occasions (Dong et al ., ; Harvey et al ., ). Does this considerable expansion of our knowledge influence the conclusions of the original paper (Wills, )?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The disparity of priapulid, archaeopriapulid and palaeoscolecid worms in the light of new data

Wills

Gerber

Ruta

et al. 2012

J of Evolutionary Biology

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Priapulids and their extinct relatives, the archaeopriapulids and palaeoscolecids, are vermiform, carnivorous ecdysozoans with an armoured, extensible proboscis. These worms were an important component of marine communities during the Palaeozoic, but were especially abundant and diverse in the Cambrian. Today, they comprise just seven genera in four families. Priapulids were among the first groups used to test hypotheses concerning the morphological disparity of Cambrian fossils relative to the extant fauna. A previous study sampled at the generic level, concluding that Cambrian genera embodied marginally less morphological diversity than their extant counterparts. Here, we sample predominantly at the species level and include numerous fossils and some extant forms described in the last fifteen years. Empirical morphospaces for priapulids, archaeopriapulids and palaeoscolecids are relatively insensitive to changes in the taxon or character sample: their overall form has altered little, despite the markedly improved sampling. Cambrian and post-Cambrian genera occupy adjacent rather than broadly overlapping regions of these spaces, and Cambrian species still show lower morphological disparity than their post-Cambrian counterparts. Crucially, the significance of this difference has increased with improved taxon sampling over research time. In contrast with empirical morphospaces, the phylogeny of priapulids, archaeopriapulids and palaeoscolecids derived from morphological characters is extremely sensitive to details of taxon sampling and the manner in which characters are weighted. However, the extant Priapulidae and Halicryptidae invariably resolve as sister families, with this entire clade subsequently being sister group to the Maccabeidae. In our most inclusive trees, the extant Tubiluchidae are separated from these other living taxa by a number of small, intervening fossil clades.

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“…Huang et al [10] reported a specimen of Corynetis preserved together with a small arthropod, Ercaia. Han et al [51] reported a specimen of Laojieella containing an Archotuba-like organism within its gut. However, further direct evidence is needed to describe the full range of prey types consumed by Chengjiang priapulids, and these worms themselves were also perhaps the prey of several Cambrian predators, such as arthropods.…”

Section: Locomotion and Feeding In Chengjiang Priapulidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phylogeny and evolutionary significance of vermiform animals from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstätte

Hou

Baines

2010

Sci. China Earth Sci.

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The Early Cambrian Chengjiang Biota of China has preserved many species of vermiform animals in exquisite detail, which provide a unique window into the origin and early evolution of different vermiform phyla. This article reviews and discusses the forty-five Chengjiang vermiform animals discovered so far, and specifically comments on the phylogeny, modes of life, evolutionary significance as well as existing debates concerning the Chengjiang priapulid and lobopodian phyla. This article analyzes existing problems with Chengjiang vermiform morphological research and highlights various factors that affect the final preserved fossil morphology, including taphonomy and shape change caused by vermiform movement, as well as proposing that Anningvermis multispinosa and Corynetis brevis are synonymous. Chengjiang vermiform animals displayed a great diversity of morphologies and ecological roles, which is significant for understanding the origin and evolution of early metazoans; the potential for future research is enormous but needs to be broadened by interdisciplinary work involving taphonomy, geochemistry, cladistics, and genetics. Chengjiang Biota, vermiform animals, priapulid, lobopodian, taphonomy Citation:Ma X Y, Hou X G, Baines D. Phylogeny and evolutionary significance of vermiform animals from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstätte. Sci

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Evidence of Priapulid Scavenging From the Early Cambrian Chengjiang Deposits, Southern China

Cited by 19 publications

References 53 publications

Diverse middle Ordovician palaeoscolecidan worms from the Builth‐Llandrindod Inlier of central Wales

Diverse middle Ordovician palaeoscolecidan worms from the Builth‐Llandrindod Inlier of central Wales

The disparity of priapulid, archaeopriapulid and palaeoscolecid worms in the light of new data

Phylogeny and evolutionary significance of vermiform animals from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstätte

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