''Jianshanopodia ''is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Cambrian The Cambrian ( ) is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 51.95 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran period 538.8 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Ordov ...

lobopodian Lobopodians are members of the informal group Lobopodia (), or the formally erected phylum Lobopoda Cavalier-Smith (1998). They are panarthropods with stubby legs called lobopods, a term which may also be used as a common name of this group as w ...

, discovered from

Maotianshan Shales The Maotianshan Shales () are a series of Early Cambrian sedimentary deposits in the Chiungchussu Formation or Heilinpu Formation, famous for their '' Konservat Lagerstätten'', deposits known for the exceptional preservation of fossilized orga ...

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Description

20210914 Jianshanopodia decora diagrammatic reconstruction

''Jianshanopodia'' resemble the closely-related siberiid ''

Megadictyon ''Megadictyon'' is a genus of Cambrian lobopodian with similarities to ''Jianshanopodia'' and '' Siberion''. The name of the genus is occasionally mis-spelt as ''Magadictyon''. Description ''Megadictyon'' is a large lobopodian, with a body le ...

''. The head possess a pair of frontal, grasping appendages bear wedge-shaped plates. The pharynx was surrounded by rows of denticles, resembles those of

radiodont Radiodonta is an extinct order of stem-group arthropods that was successful worldwide during the Cambrian period. Radiodonts are distinguished by their distinctive frontal appendages, which are morphologically diverse and were used for a variety ...

s and

priapulid Priapulida (priapulid worms, from Gr. πριάπος, ''priāpos'' 'Priapus' + Lat. ''-ul-'', diminutive), sometimes referred to as penis worms, is a phylum of unsegmented marine worms. The name of the phylum relates to the Greek god of fertility ...

s. The trunk was annulated and possesses a pair of stout legs (lobopods) per body segment. Due to the lack of a complete specimen, the exact number of body segments/leg pair is uncertain. If 12 body segments present, the living animal might grew over 20 cm. Each of the leg was lined up with rows of tubercles and tree-like branches, instead of being tipped with claws as many lobopodians are. The trunk terminated with a large median lobe and a pair of small lateral lobes, forming a fan-like structure. Inside the trunk was a sediment-filled gut surrounded by serially repeated diverticulae. ''Jianshanopodia'' was suggested to be mainly crawled on the sea floor, but could swim with its fan-like tail when necessary. The leg branches might function as external

gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...

s. It is thought to be predatory and have sucked up prey with its short 'trunk', consuming food items with its robust mouthparts and gut diverticulae.

Phylogeny

Phylogenetic position of ''Jianshanopodia'' according to Pates ''et al''. (2022).

References

Prehistoric protostome genera Fossil taxa described in 2006 Lobopodia Cambrian genus extinctions {{Cambrian-animal-stub