Biology:Beidazoon

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Beidazoon venustum is a marine deuterostome from the group Vetulicolia. It originates from the lower Cambrian Chengjiang biota of Yunnan Province, China, and was discovered in 2005. It is known as the smallest described vetulicolian, and for its surface being covered in many small nodes.[1]

Description

Beidazoon venustum had a hard outer shell similar to Vetulicola, with a single band mouth. Its tail is asymmetrical and composed of a hard shell extending from the upper posterior, an axial lobe of seven segments, and a ventral lobe with four or five segments.[2] According to its discoverer, Beidazoon's shell was "beautifully ornamented with numerous nodes".[3]

Taxonomy

The family Beidazoonidae was erected to house Beidazoon at the time of its discovery.[2] However, Beidazoon's junior synonym Bullivetula was assigned to Vetulicolidae,[4] and other authors have accepted that assignment for Beidazoon.[5]

One 2024 study found Beidazoon to be nestled within Vetulicola as a sister to V. monile within a monophyletic Vetulicolidae:[6]

Vetulicolidae

Ooedigera

Vetulicola cuneata

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Vetulicola gantoucunensis

Vetulicola longbaoshanensis

Vetulicola rectangulata

Vetulicola monile

Beidazoon

An earlier study in 2014 treated Vetulicola as monophyletic, but was unable to resolve any relationships among vetulicolians as a group:[7]

Vetulicolia

Vetulicola

Pomatrum† / Xidazoon

Didazoon

Beidazoon

Yuyuanozoon

Banffia

Heteromorphus

Ooedigera

Nesonektris

References

  1. Hou et al. 2017, p. 278
  2. 2.0 2.1 Shu 2005, pp. 2346–2349
  3. Shu 2005, p. 2349
  4. Aldridge et al. 2007, pp. 140–142
  5. Li et al. 2018, pp. 1083–1084
  6. Mussini et al. 2024, p. 7 (Note that the labeling of Vetulicolidae in the cladogram is per Li et al. 2018, cited earlier in this page)
  7. García-Bellido et al. 2014, p. 9

Works cited

Template:Vetulicolia Wikidata ☰ Q85746366 entry