A new euarthropod with ‘great appendage’-like frontal head limbs from the Chengjiang Lagerstätte, Southwest China

Robert O’flynn (1, 2) , Denis Audo (1, 2) , Mark Williams (3) , Dayou Zhai (1, 2) , Hong Chen (1, 2) , Yu Liu (1, 2)

1 Yunnan University
2 MEC - MEC International Joint Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment
3 University of Leicester

Bushizheia yangi gen. et sp. nov. is a euarthropod species from the Cambrian (Series 2, Stage 3) Chengjiang Lagerstätte, Southwest China. Sclerotised dorsal tergites, sclerotisation of post-frontal head limb appendages, and no isolated cephalic sclerite support the euarthropod affinities of B. yangi gen. et sp. nov. However, the frontal head limbs resemble in morphology the anteroventral raptorial appendage of radiodonts. Although, due to the absence of critical soft anatomy, we cannot elucidate the exact segmental affinities of these raptorial appendages, the possession of ‘great appendage’-like frontal head limbs is important for assessing the range of limb morphology evolved by early euarthropods.

Mots clés: Chengjiang; Euarthropoda; Great appendage; new genus; new species; Radiodonta

Domaines: Paléontologie; Systématique, phylogénie et taxonomie; Evolution [q-bio.PE]

Robert O’flynn, Denis Audo, Mark Williams, Dayou Zhai, Hong Chen, et al.. A new euarthropod with ‘great appendage’-like frontal head limbs from the Chengjiang Lagerstätte, Southwest China. Palaeontologia Electronica, 2020, ⟨10.26879/1069⟩. ⟨mnhn-03822566⟩