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An armoured Cambrian lobopodian from China with arthropod-like appendages - Nature

  • ️Zhang, Xingliang
  • ️Wed Feb 23 2011
  • Letter
  • Published: 23 February 2011

Nature volume 470, pages 526–530 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Cambrian fossil Lagerstätten preserving soft-bodied organisms have contributed much towards our understanding of metazoan origins1,2,3. Lobopodians are a particularly interesting group that diversified and flourished in the Cambrian seas. Resembling ‘worms with legs’, they have long attracted much attention in that they may have given rise to both Onychophora (velvet worms)4,5,6 and Tardigrada (water bears)7,8, as well as to arthropods in general9,10,11,12. Here we describe Diania cactiformis gen. et sp. nov. as an ‘armoured’ lobopodian from the Chengjiang fossil Lagerstätte (Cambrian Stage 3), Yunnan, southwestern China. Although sharing features with other typical lobopodians, it is remarkable for possessing robust and probably sclerotized appendages, with what appear to be articulated elements. In terms of limb morphology it is therefore closer to the arthropod condition, to our knowledge, than any lobopodian recorded until now. Phylogenetic analysis recovers it in a derived position, close to Arthropoda; thus, it seems to belong to a grade of organization close to the point of becoming a true arthropod. Further, D. cactiformis could imply that arthropodization (sclerotization of the limbs) preceded arthrodization (sclerotization of the body). Comparing our fossils with other lobopodian appendage morphologies—see Kerygmachela9,10, Jianshanopodia13 and Megadictyon12—reinforces the hypothesis that the group as a whole is paraphyletic, with different taxa expressing different grades of arthropodization.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a Research Scholarship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the Freie Universität Berlin, the National Science Foundation of China (grants 40802011 and 40830208) and the MOST Special Fund from the State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Northwest University (to J.L.), and a DFG grant within the Forschergruppe 736 (to H.K. and M.S.). We thank M. G. Chi for the reconstruction, J. Evers and M. Y. Sun for photography and table, and local workers for their strenuous field work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, Early Life Institute, State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Northwest University, Xi’an, 710069, China

    Jianni Liu, Degan Shu, Jian Han, Zhifei Zhang & Xingliang Zhang

  2. Department of Earth Science, Freie Universität Berlin, D-12249 Berlin, Germany

    Jianni Liu, Michael Steiner & Helmut Keupp

  3. Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Research on Evolution and Biodiversity at the Humboldt University Berlin, D-10115 Berlin, Germany

    Jason A. Dunlop

  4. School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083, China

    Degan Shu & Qiang Ou

Authors

  1. Jianni Liu

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  2. Michael Steiner

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  3. Jason A. Dunlop

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  4. Helmut Keupp

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  5. Degan Shu

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  6. Qiang Ou

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  7. Jian Han

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  8. Zhifei Zhang

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  9. Xingliang Zhang

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Contributions

J.L. collected most of the fossils, described them and wrote the paper with the other authors; M.S. collected material and was involved in the phylogenetic analysis; J.A.D. contributed to the discussion; H.K. and D.S. were involved in technical aspects of the analysis; Q.O. provided three specimens. J.H. and Z.Z. contributed to fieldwork; X.Z. was involved in the analysis.

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Correspondence to Jianni Liu.

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The file contains Supplementary Data, Supplementary Figure 1 and legend, Supplementary Table 1 and additional references. (PDF 444 kb)

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Liu, J., Steiner, M., Dunlop, J. et al. An armoured Cambrian lobopodian from China with arthropod-like appendages. Nature 470, 526–530 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09704

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  • Received: 03 October 2010

  • Accepted: 19 November 2010

  • Published: 23 February 2011

  • Issue Date: 24 February 2011

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09704

Editorial Summary

A 'walking cactus' related to modern arthropods

Jointed limbs in arthropods are a key innovation that facilitated the evolution of the world's most species-rich animal group. Their ancestors may lie among a group of extinct animals called lobopodians, which looked rather like worms with legs. A newly discovered 520-million-year-old fossil lobopodian from China may be the closest known fossil relative of modern arthropods. A thin worm-like animal, Diania cactiformis is named to reflect its 'walking cactus' appearance. The possession of what seem to be the beginnings of robust, jointed and spiny legs suggest that this bizarre animal might be very close to the origins of the arthropods.

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