Yuyuanozoon
Encyclopedia
Yuyuanozoon magnificissimi is the largest known vetulicolia
n, with the holotype (and only known specimen) measuring about 202 millimeters in length. In life, it would have been an egg-shaped animal with a long cylindrical tail. The body is divided into 6 segments, with a gill opening (that has gill filaments extending out from each opening) placed symmetrically on each side of every body segment starting at the second segment. The cylindrical tail is divided into 7 segments, and differs from the tails of all other known vetulicolians (not being flattened like vetulicolids like Vetulicola
, and didazoonids
like Didazoon
, and is unlike the tails of banffozoans like Banffia
and Skeemella
).
The details of the tail anatomy, and of the gill openings with gill filaments currently leave Y. magnificissimi as incertae sedis
.
. The specific name, magnificissimi, translates as "magnificent," in reference to the great size of the holotype.
Vetulicolia
VetulicoliaThe phylum name, Vetulocolia, is derived from the type genus, Vetulicola, which is a compound Latin word composed of vetuli, or "old," and cola, or "inhabitant." is an extinct phylum encompassing several Cambrian organisms...
n, with the holotype (and only known specimen) measuring about 202 millimeters in length. In life, it would have been an egg-shaped animal with a long cylindrical tail. The body is divided into 6 segments, with a gill opening (that has gill filaments extending out from each opening) placed symmetrically on each side of every body segment starting at the second segment. The cylindrical tail is divided into 7 segments, and differs from the tails of all other known vetulicolians (not being flattened like vetulicolids like Vetulicola
Vetulicola
Vetulicola is a genus of small, Early Cambrian animals from the Chengjiang biota of China.-Description:The type species, Vetulicola cuneata has a body composed of two distinct parts of approximately equal length. The front part is rectangular with a carapace-like structure of four rigid cuticular...
, and didazoonids
Didazoonidae
Didazoonidae is a family of Vetulicolians containing the species Didazoon haoae, Pomatrum ventralis and Xidazoon stephanus. Their fossils are from the Maotianshan shales Cambrian Lagerstätte....
like Didazoon
Didazoon
The genus Didazoon was erected by Shu, et al. based on fossils found in the Qiongzhusi Formation, Yu'anshan Member , Lower Cambrian, in the Dabanqiao area , about 60 km northwest of Chengjiang, China...
, and is unlike the tails of banffozoans like Banffia
Banffia
Banffia is a genus of animals described from Middle Cambrian fossils. The genus commemorates Banff, Alberta, near where the first fossil specimens were discovered. Its placement in higher taxa is controversial.- Anatomy :...
and Skeemella
Skeemella
Skeemella clavula is an elongate animal from what is now the Middle Cambrian Wheeler Shale lagerstatten, of Utah....
).
The details of the tail anatomy, and of the gill openings with gill filaments currently leave Y. magnificissimi as incertae sedis
Incertae sedis
, is a term used to define a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Uncertainty at specific taxonomic levels is attributed by , , and similar terms.-Examples:*The fossil plant Paradinandra suecica could not be assigned to any...
.
Etymology
The generic name translates as "Animal of Yu Yuan," Yu Yuan being an ancient name for Chengjiang CountyChengjiang County
Chengjiang County is located in Yuxi, Yunnan Province, China, just north of Fuxian Lake....
. The specific name, magnificissimi, translates as "magnificent," in reference to the great size of the holotype.
External links
- New phylum on the block
- Once We Were Worms
- Chu, et al., Primitive Deuterostomes from the Chengjiang Lagerstätte - accessed December 1, 2005