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Mats Eriksson

Mats Eriksson

Professor

Mats Eriksson

Growth patterns of palaeoscolecid sclerites from the Furongian (upper Cambrian) Wangcun section, western Hunan, South China

Author

  • Xiao Feng Xian
  • Mats E. Eriksson
  • Hua Qiao Zhang

Summary, in English

In a strict sense, palaeoscolecids are a group of cycloneuralian worms (ecdysozoans) characterized by the tessellation of trunk sclerites, which are differentiated into plates, platelets, and microplates. The Wangcun section in western Hunan, South China, which represents the Furongian Series (upper Cambrian), has yielded a rich and diverse collection of palaeoscolecids. However, there is uncertainty about how the morphology and arrangement of their sclerites change during ontogeny and the potential taxonomic implications of these changes. Here, we report new phosphatized trunk fragments from the Wangcun section, which are assigned to Dispinoscolex decorus, Hunanoscolex campus (= Ornatoscolex hunanensis), and Schistoscolex hunanensis. Trunk fragments of the same species with different diameter indicate the presence of several ontogenetic stages, and careful assessment revealed two types of sclerite growth patterns. One is represented by D. decorus and possibly also by S. hunanensis, in which the worm growth is accompanied mainly by the enlargement of the plates, with almost no change in the median annular zones and annulation boundaries. The other type is represented by H. campus, in which the worm growth is accompanied mainly by the widening of the median annular zones and annulation boundaries inserted with continuously more platelets and microplates. Because the specimens originally assigned to H. campus seem to represent late ontogenetic stages of O. hunanensis, we propose that H. campus is a senior synonym of the latter. This study underscores the importance of ontogenetic variation of sclerites for the taxonomy of palaeoscolecids, and highlights the significance of Orsten-type fossils in the study of metazoan ontogeny.

Department/s

  • Lithosphere and Biosphere Science

Publishing year

2023

Language

English

Publication/Series

Palaeoworld

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Elsevier

Topic

  • Geology

Keywords

  • Cambrian Furongian
  • China
  • Cycloneuralia
  • Palaeoscolecida
  • sclerite growth patterns
  • Wangcun section

Status

Epub

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1871-174X