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Article: The Cambrian palaeoscolecid Wronascolex from the Shipai fauna (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4) of the Three Gorges area, South China

Papers in Palaeontology - Volume 2 Part 4 - Cover
Publication: Papers in Palaeontology
Volume: 2
Part: 4
Publication Date: November 2016
Page(s): 555 568
Author(s): Yuning Yang, and Xingliang Zhang
DOI: 10.1002/spp2.1054
Addition Information

How to Cite

YANG, Y., ZHANG, X. 2016. The Cambrian palaeoscolecid Wronascolex from the Shipai fauna (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4) of the Three Gorges area, South China. Papers in Palaeontology, 2, 4, 555-568. DOI: 10.1002/spp2.1054

Author Information

  • Yuning Yang - College of Resource & Environment Engineering Guizhou University Guiyang China (Email: ynyang333@163.com)
  • Yuning Yang - Early Life Institute State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics Department of Geology Northwest University Xi'an China
  • Xingliang Zhang - Early Life Institute State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics Department of Geology Northwest University Xi'an China (Email: xzhang69@nwu.edu.cn)

Publication History

  • Manuscript Accepted: 18 August 2016
  • Manuscript Received: 04 July 2016

Funded By

Ministry of Science and Technology of China. Grant Number: 2013CB835002
National Natural Science Foundation of China. Grant Number: 41272036

Online Version Hosted By

Wiley Online Library
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Abstract

Our understanding of fossil priapulids, and in particular the palaeoscolecids, is limited owing to the rarity of preserved anterior introverts and a general absence of detailed cuticular ornament preservation in compression material. Here we describe Wronascolex yichangensis sp. nov. (Cycloneuralia, Palaeoscolecida) on the basis of overall external morphology and distinctive scleritome organization in new compressed material from the Shipai fauna, Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4 in the Three Gorges area of South China. Recurrent fine‐scale features observed in SEM analysis distinguish W. yichangensis sp. nov. from other species by its extremely closely spaced annulations, each with two rows of Hadimopanella‐type plates ranging from 37 to 62 μm in diameter but without platelets or microplates, and each plate adorned with a single circle of four to seven nodes and an occasional central node on the upper surface. Since the recent reassignment of some species from Palaeoscolex into Wronascolex, the latter genus has become a fairly diverse and cosmopolitan genus ranging from Cambrian Stage 4 to Drumian in age. However, knowledge of the sclerite pattern of Wronascolex and its associated microstructure for taxonomic purposes are still poorly understood. Since the origins of the phosphatized Hadimopanella‐type sclerites are apparently quite diverse, evaluating the biodiversity and biostratigraphic utility of Wronascolex is currently problematic.

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