The lobopodian Paucipodia inermis from the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang fauna, Yunnan, China
Abstract
New specimens of Paucipodia inermis Chen, Zhou & Ramskold, 1995, are described from the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstatte in Haikou, Kunming. Details not previously seen in the Chengjiang material appear to be caused by early diagenetic processes. Some features not previously observed in Palaeozoic lobopodians include details of the dermomuscular sac, body cavities, contents of the gut, possible paired ventral nerve ganglia, and a rasping or biting apparatus with teeth. The latter implies a fundamental difference from onychophorans and rules out an ancestral position for Palaeozoic lobopodians. The supposed tail is shown to be the head, and it is shown that this animal possessed nine pairs of lobopods rather than six, as originally stated. The family Paucipodiidae n. fam. is introduced.
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Exceptionally preserved in the Chengjiang fossil lagerstätte, lobopodians are elongate animals with paired limbs and sclerites (trunk plates) situated along each side of the body.
“Exceptionally preserved in the Chengjiang fossil lagerstätte, they are elongate animals with paired limbs and sclerites (trunk plates) situated along each side of the body”
From Chronology of early Cambrian biomineralization (2012) · cites this paper as Hou et al . 2004
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- Authors
- Hou, X., Ma, X., Zhao, J., & Bergström, J.
- Affiliations
- Yunnan Research Center for Chengjiang Biota Yunnan University Kunming 650091 People's Republic of China;
- Yunnan University (CN)
- Swedish Museum of Natural History (SE)
- ORCID
- Zhao, Jie
- Venue
- Lethaia
- Publisher
- Scandinavian University Press
- Published
- 2004-09
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 235-244
- ISSN
- 0024-1164 (ISSN-L)
- 1502-3931
- OpenAlex
- W2033253345
- Cited by
- 38
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 4 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 0.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Lethaia (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Keywords
- lobopodians, Lower Cambrian, Chengjiang fauna, Chengjiang Lagerstätte, gut contents, early diagenesis, species redescription
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