Tiny Sea Anemone from the Lower Cambrian of China
Background Abundant fossils from the Ediacaran and Cambrian showing cnidarian grade grossly suggest that cnidarian diversification occurred earlier than that of other eumetazoans. However, fossils of possible soft-bodied polyps are scanty and modern corals are dated back only to the Middle Triassic, although molecular phylogenetic results support the idea that anthozoans represent the first major branch of the Cnidaria. Because of difficulties in taxonomic assignments owing to imperfect preservation of fossil cnidarian candidates, little is known about forms ancestral to those of living groups. Methods and Findings We have analyzed the soft-bodied polypoid microfossils Eolympia pediculata gen. et sp. nov. from the lowest Cambrian Kuanchuanpu Formation in southern China by scanning electron microscopy and computer-aided microtomography after isolating fossils from sedimentary rocks by acetic acid maceration. The fossils, about a half mm in body size, are preserved with 18 mesenteries including directives bilaterally arranged, 18 tentacles and a stalk-like pedicle. The pedicle suggests a sexual life cycle, while asexual reproduction by transverse fission also is inferred by circumferential grooves on the body column. Conclusions The features found in the present fossils fall within the morphological spectrum of modern Hexacorallia excluding Ceriantharia, and thus Eolympia pediculata could be a stem member for this group. The fossils also demonstrate that basic features characterizing modern hexacorallians such as bilateral symmetry and the reproductive system have deep roots in the Early Cambrian.
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dig-ibe-es-10261-438012021-12-28T16:50:26Z Tiny Sea Anemone from the Lower Cambrian of China Han, Jian Kubota, Shin Uchida, Hiro-omi Stanley Jr., George D. Yao, Xiaoyong Shu, Degan Li, Yong Yasui, Kinya Lalueza-Fox, Carles Background Abundant fossils from the Ediacaran and Cambrian showing cnidarian grade grossly suggest that cnidarian diversification occurred earlier than that of other eumetazoans. However, fossils of possible soft-bodied polyps are scanty and modern corals are dated back only to the Middle Triassic, although molecular phylogenetic results support the idea that anthozoans represent the first major branch of the Cnidaria. Because of difficulties in taxonomic assignments owing to imperfect preservation of fossil cnidarian candidates, little is known about forms ancestral to those of living groups. Methods and Findings We have analyzed the soft-bodied polypoid microfossils Eolympia pediculata gen. et sp. nov. from the lowest Cambrian Kuanchuanpu Formation in southern China by scanning electron microscopy and computer-aided microtomography after isolating fossils from sedimentary rocks by acetic acid maceration. The fossils, about a half mm in body size, are preserved with 18 mesenteries including directives bilaterally arranged, 18 tentacles and a stalk-like pedicle. The pedicle suggests a sexual life cycle, while asexual reproduction by transverse fission also is inferred by circumferential grooves on the body column. Conclusions The features found in the present fossils fall within the morphological spectrum of modern Hexacorallia excluding Ceriantharia, and thus Eolympia pediculata could be a stem member for this group. The fossils also demonstrate that basic features characterizing modern hexacorallians such as bilateral symmetry and the reproductive system have deep roots in the Early Cambrian. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation of China (http://www.nsfc.gov.cn/) grants 40830208, 40602003, 50702005 to J. Han and D. G. Shu, and by MOST Special Fund from the State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Northwest University, China (http://sklcd.nwu.edu.cn/) to J. Han and D. G. Shu. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Peer reviewed 2011-12-28T11:42:59Z 2011-12-28T11:42:59Z 2010-10-13 artículo http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 PLoS ONE 5(10): e13276 (2010) 1932-6203 http://hdl.handle.net/10261/43801 10.1371/journal.pone.0013276 20967244 en Publisher’s version http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013276 open Public Library of Science |
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Background
Abundant fossils from the Ediacaran and Cambrian showing cnidarian grade grossly suggest that cnidarian diversification occurred earlier than that of other eumetazoans. However, fossils of possible soft-bodied polyps are scanty and modern corals are dated back only to the Middle Triassic, although molecular phylogenetic results support the idea that anthozoans represent the first major branch of the Cnidaria. Because of difficulties in taxonomic assignments owing to imperfect preservation of fossil cnidarian candidates, little is known about forms ancestral to those of living groups.
Methods and Findings
We have analyzed the soft-bodied polypoid microfossils Eolympia pediculata gen. et sp. nov. from the lowest Cambrian Kuanchuanpu Formation in southern China by scanning electron microscopy and computer-aided microtomography after isolating fossils from sedimentary rocks by acetic acid maceration. The fossils, about a half mm in body size, are preserved with 18 mesenteries including directives bilaterally arranged, 18 tentacles and a stalk-like pedicle. The pedicle suggests a sexual life cycle, while asexual reproduction by transverse fission also is inferred by circumferential grooves on the body column.
Conclusions
The features found in the present fossils fall within the morphological spectrum of modern Hexacorallia excluding Ceriantharia, and thus Eolympia pediculata could be a stem member for this group. The fossils also demonstrate that basic features characterizing modern hexacorallians such as bilateral symmetry and the reproductive system have deep roots in the Early Cambrian. |
author2 |
Lalueza-Fox, Carles |
author_facet |
Lalueza-Fox, Carles Han, Jian Kubota, Shin Uchida, Hiro-omi Stanley Jr., George D. Yao, Xiaoyong Shu, Degan Li, Yong Yasui, Kinya |
format |
artículo |
author |
Han, Jian Kubota, Shin Uchida, Hiro-omi Stanley Jr., George D. Yao, Xiaoyong Shu, Degan Li, Yong Yasui, Kinya |
spellingShingle |
Han, Jian Kubota, Shin Uchida, Hiro-omi Stanley Jr., George D. Yao, Xiaoyong Shu, Degan Li, Yong Yasui, Kinya Tiny Sea Anemone from the Lower Cambrian of China |
author_sort |
Han, Jian |
title |
Tiny Sea Anemone from the Lower Cambrian of China |
title_short |
Tiny Sea Anemone from the Lower Cambrian of China |
title_full |
Tiny Sea Anemone from the Lower Cambrian of China |
title_fullStr |
Tiny Sea Anemone from the Lower Cambrian of China |
title_full_unstemmed |
Tiny Sea Anemone from the Lower Cambrian of China |
title_sort |
tiny sea anemone from the lower cambrian of china |
publisher |
Public Library of Science |
publishDate |
2010-10-13 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10261/43801 |
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1777668544278822912 |