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Article: Phosphatic carapace of the waptiid arthropod Chuandianella ovata and biomineralization of ecdysozoans

Palaeontology - Vol. 64 - Cover Image
Publication: Palaeontology
Volume: 64
Part: 6
Publication Date: November 2021
Page(s): 755 763
Author(s): Cong Liu, Dongjing Fu, and Xingliang Zhang
Addition Information

How to Cite

LIU, C., FU, D., ZHANG, X. 2021. . Palaeontology, 64, 6, 755-763. DOI: /doi/10.1111/pala.12570

Author Information

  • Cong Liu - State Key Laboratory of the Continental Dynamics Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Early Life and Environments Department of Geology Northwest University Xi’an 710069 China
  • Dongjing Fu - State Key Laboratory of the Continental Dynamics Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Early Life and Environments Department of Geology Northwest University Xi’an 710069 China
  • Xingliang Zhang - State Key Laboratory of the Continental Dynamics Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Early Life and Environments Department of Geology Northwest University Xi’an 710069 China
  • Xingliang Zhang - Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology Chinese Academy of Sciences Nanjing 210008 China

Publication History

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    Abstract

    Arthropods other than trilobites or bradoriids constitute a major component of many Cambrian Burgess-Shale-type Lagerstätten. Owing to their scarcity in other less well-preserved deposits, they are generally regarded as lightly sclerotized but non-mineralized. Here we show that Chuandianella ovata, one of the typical lightly sclerotized arthropods from the Chengjiang biota, reinforced its carapace with phosphatic mineralization. Multiple methods reveal a pitted microstructure and organophosphatic composition of the carapace. Nanogranules of amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) on the fossil carapace are comparable to those of recent crustacean microstructures, implying that arthropods may have a conserved mechanism of phosphatic mineralization since the Cambrian. The fossil record indicates that the mineralization of ecdysozoans, preceded by the mineralization of lophotrochozoans in the Terreneuvian (~541–521 Ma), appeared in Cambrian Stage 3 (~521–514 Ma) and surpassed the range of living counterparts in phylogenetic coverage. This phenomenon strengthens the view that biomineralization has evolved multiple times independently within the Metazoa. The sudden appearance of mineralized skeletons in the early history of metazoan evolution is frequently attributed to external environment drivers. However, this viewpoint cannot explain the minerology and appearance time of metazoan lineages with mineralized hard parts during the Cambrian explosion.

    Acknowledgements

    We are grateful to R.R. Gaines, S. Thomas, T.-Y. Park, and an anonymous reviewer for constructive comments on various versions of the manuscript. This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (41890845, 41621003, 41772011, 41930139), National Key Research and Development Program (2017YFC0603101), 111 Project (D17013), and Key Scientific and Technological Innovation Team Project in Shaanxi Province.

      Author contributions

      XLZ designed the research and CL performed analyses. XLZ and CL interpreted the data with input from DJF. CL prepared the first draft which was edited by XLZ.

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