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A new radiodontan oral cone with a unique combination of anatomical features from the early Cambrian Guanshan Lagerstätte, eastern Yunnan, South China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 September 2017

Han Zeng ,
Fangchen Zhao ,
Zongjun Yin  and
Maoyan Zhu
Han Zeng
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China 〈[email protected]〉, 〈[email protected]〉, 〈[email protected]〉, 〈[email protected]〉 Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 37012, MRC-121, Washington, DC, 20013–7012, USA University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19 Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
Fangchen Zhao*
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China 〈[email protected]〉, 〈[email protected]〉, 〈[email protected]〉, 〈[email protected]〉
Zongjun Yin
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China 〈[email protected]〉, 〈[email protected]〉, 〈[email protected]〉, 〈[email protected]〉
Maoyan Zhu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China 〈[email protected]〉, 〈[email protected]〉, 〈[email protected]〉, 〈[email protected]〉 College of Earth Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19 Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
*
*Corresponding author
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Abstract

The radiodontans, including anomalocaridids and their allies, are enigmatic stem-group euarthropods and are the most ancient apex giant predators known from the fossil record. Most studies on their feeding behaviors have emphasized their diverse and abundant raptorial frontal appendages, while the oral cone surrounding the mouth opening in these animals has attracted less attention. At present, three oral cone morphotypes are known, from Anomalocaris Whiteaves, 1892, Peytoia Walcott, 1911, and Hurdia Walcott, 1912, respectively. In this paper, we report on a novel form of radiodontan oral cone from the Guanshan Lagerstätte (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4) in the Wulongqing Formation, eastern Yunnan, South China. This oral cone is unique in combining features seen in Peytoia/Hurdia and Anomalocaris. It possesses a Peytoia/Hurdia-type ‘tetraradial’ configuration comprising a 32-plate outer ring that consists of four perpendicularly arranged large plates and 28 small plates, in addition to furrowed folds and scale-like nodes on plate surfaces otherwise seen only in Anomalocaris. As an intermediate morphotype, the Guanshan oral cone improves our understanding of the occurrence and morphological disparity of radiodontan oral cones, illuminates future investigations on potentially variable radiodontan feeding mechanisms, and reveals possible evolutionary transformations of these peculiar feeding structures. The resolution of current radiodontan phylogeny would be potentially improved by new knowledge on other body parts apart from frontal appendages in future studies.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 92 , Special Issue 1: Cambrian Explosion , January 2018 , pp. 40 - 48
Copyright
Copyright © 2017, The Paleontological Society 

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