Early evolution of the ecdysozoan body plan

Extant ecdysozoans (moulting animals) are represented by a great variety of soft-bodied or articulated organisms that may or may not have appendages. However, controversies remain about the vermiform nature (i.e. elongated and tubular) of their ancestral body plan. We describe here gen. et sp. nov....

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Published ineLife Vol. 13
Main Authors Wang, Deng, Qiang, Yaqin, Guo, Junfeng, Vannier, Jean, Song, Zuchen, Peng, Jiaxin, Zhang, Boyao, Sun, Jie, Yu, Yilun, Zhang, Yiheng, Zhang, Tao, Yang, Xiaoguang, Han, Jian
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England eLife Science Publications, Ltd 08.07.2024
eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Subjects
Analysis
Animals
Appendages
beretella
Biological Evolution
body plan
Cambrian
China
early evolution
Ecdysozoa
Evolutionary Biology
Fossils
Fossils - anatomy & histology
Invertebrates - anatomy & histology
Invertebrates - classification
Invertebrates - genetics
Molting
Morphology
New species
Phylogeny
saccorhytida
Symmetry
Yanjiahe Formation
China
Hubei China
beretella
body plan
early evolution
Yanjiahe Formation
evolutionary biology
saccorhytida
ecdysozoa
none
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Summary:Extant ecdysozoans (moulting animals) are represented by a great variety of soft-bodied or articulated organisms that may or may not have appendages. However, controversies remain about the vermiform nature (i.e. elongated and tubular) of their ancestral body plan. We describe here gen. et sp. nov. a tiny (maximal length 3 mm) ecdysozoan from the lowermost Cambrian, Yanjiahe Formation, South China, characterized by an unusual sack-like appearance, single opening, and spiny ornament. gen. et sp. nov has no equivalent among animals, except , also from the basal Cambrian. Phylogenetic analyses resolve both fossil species as a sister group (Saccorhytida) to all known Ecdysozoa, thus suggesting that ancestral ecdysozoans may have been non-vermiform animals. Saccorhytids are likely to represent an early off-shot along the stem-line Ecdysozoa. Although it became extinct during the Cambrian, this animal lineage provides precious insight into the early evolution of Ecdysozoa and the nature of the earliest representatives of the group.
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These authors contributed equally to this work.
ISSN:2050-084X
2050-084X
DOI:10.7554/eLife.94709