''Maculicorpus'' is a genus of fossil

placozoan Placozoa ( ; ) is a phylum of free-living (non-parasitic) marine invertebrates. They are blob-like animals composed of aggregations of cells. Moving in water by ciliary motion, eating food by Phagocytosis, engulfment, reproducing by Fission (biol ...

from the

Middle Triassic In the geologic timescale, the Middle Triassic is the second of three epoch (geology), epochs of the Triassic period (geology), period or the middle of three series (stratigraphy), series in which the Triassic system (stratigraphy), system is di ...

of Germany, and the first placozoan known from the fossil record. It comprises a single known species, ''Maculicorpus microbialis''.

Discovery

''Maculicorpus'' is known from a

microbialite Microbialite is a benthic sedimentary deposit made of carbonate mud (particle diameter less than 5 μm) that is formed with the mediation of microbes. The constituent carbonate mud is a type of '' automicrite'' (or ''authigenic carbonate mu ...

bed discovered in the Troistedt Quarry near

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

, as part of the Meißner Formation. The microbialite has been dated to the late

Anisian In the geologic timescale, the Anisian is the lower stage (stratigraphy), stage or earliest geologic age, age of the Middle Triassic series (stratigraphy), series or geologic epoch, epoch and lasted from million years ago until million years ag ...

to early

Ladinian The Ladinian is a stage and age in the Middle Triassic series or epoch. It spans the time between Ma and ~237 Ma (million years ago). The Ladinian was preceded by the Anisian and succeeded by the Carnian (part of the Upper or Late Triassic ...

Description

The specimens referred to ''Maculicorpus'' appear as flat patches, brown to ochre in color, varying between and in diameter. The outline is irregular and varies in overall shape from circular to elongate, fan-shaped or multi-lobed. The holotype, in length, is constricted in the middle, appearing as an aggregate of a larger, irregularly rounded portion and a smaller elliptical one. ''Maculicorpus'' is larger than any modern-day placozoan.

References

Works cited

* * Placozoa Fossil taxa described in 2021 Triassic Germany Middle Triassic animals of Europe Monotypic prehistoric animal genera {{paleo-invertebrate-stub