Biology:Kerygmachela

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Kerygmachela kierkegaardi is a kerygmachelid[1] gilled lobopodian from the Cambrian Stage 3 aged Sirius Passet Lagerstätte in northern Greenland. Its anatomy strongly suggests that it, along with its relative Pambdelurion whittingtoni, was a close relative of radiodonts (Anomalocaris and relatives) and euarthropods.[2][3] The generic name "Kerygmachela" derives from the Greek words Kerygma (proclamation) and Chela (claw), in reference to the flamboyant frontal appendages. The specific name, "kierkegaardi" honors Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.[2][3]

Morphology

Size of Kerygmachela compared to a human hand
Eyes (deep blue), brain (light blue) and digestive system (yellow) of Kerygmachela.
Closeup of the head, following a protocerebral interpretation. Key: el = eye lobe, mo = mouth opening, nap = anterior neural projection, nb = branching of nerve, nc = nerve cord, nfa = frontal appendage nervous tract, npc = protocerebrum, nop = optic nerve, phr = pharynx

The head of Kerygmachela possesses a pair of well-developed frontal appendages which correspond to those of other dinocaridids and siberiid lobopodians.[4] Each of them terminates in a series of long spines. A pair of sessile, slit-like compound eyes is located slightly behind the base of these appendages.[3] A small anterior-facing mouth is located below the head and bears a pair of stylet-like structures.[3] The head also possesses a median lobe-like projection that carries a pair of small, possible ocular structures (median eye).[3] The body is composed of 11 segments, each indicated by 4 dorsal turberculates associated with 11 pairs of lateral flaps with dorsal gill-like wrinkling.[2] Initially, 11 pairs of small legs (lobopods) were thought to be evident just below the flaps,[2] but later observations suggest the lopobods were most likely absent, and the flaps were originated from ancestral lopobods instead.[5][1] The body ends with a single, stiff tail spine[3][1] that was formerly thought to be a pair of segmented cerci.[2][6]

Internally, Kerygmachela possesses a well-developed pharynx[3] and a midgut with 8 pairs of arthropod-like digestive glands.[7] The brain have ramified nerves extended to the median lobe, frontal appendages and eyes.[3] Only the protocerebrum (the frontal-most cerebral ganglion) was evident from the brain region, thus all of the other head nerves were considered protocerebral.[3] On the other hand, a subsequent study of radiodont Stanleycaris might suggest a deutocerebral origin for the frontal appendage nerves.[8]

Paleoecology

Life restoration of Kerygmachela swimming in open water

The absence of walking limbs suggests that Kerygmachela was a freely swimming (nektonic) predator, using the body flaps to swim,[1][5] and the large frontal appendages to grasp prey.[9]

Template:CEXNAV

Phylogeny

After McCall 2023:[1]

Total group Euarthropoda

Siberion 100px

Megadictyon 100px

Jianshanopodia 100px

Utahnax 100px

Kerygmachela 100px

Mobulavermis 100px

Omnidens 100px

Pambdelurion 100px

Opabiniidae 100px

Caryosyntrips 100px

Radiodonta (e.g. Anomalocaris) 100px

Deuteropoda (modern arthropods) 100px

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 McCall, Christian R. A. (2023-12-13). "A large pelagic lobopodian from the Cambrian Pioche Shale of Nevada" (in en). Journal of Paleontology 97 (5): 1009–1024. doi:10.1017/jpa.2023.63. ISSN 0022-3360. Bibcode2023JPal...97.1009M. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/abs/large-pelagic-lobopodian-from-the-cambrian-pioche-shale-of-nevada/11B0704C49A7730AA3E8F46EB2CA1C95. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Budd, Graham E. (1993), "A Cambrian gilled lobopod from Greenland", Nature 364 (6439): 709–711, doi:10.1038/364709a0, Bibcode1993Natur.364..709B 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Park, Tae-Yoon S.; Kihm, Ji-Hoon; Woo, Jusun; Park, Changkun; Lee, Won Young; Smith, M. Paul; Harper, David A. T.; Young, Fletcher et al. (2018-03-09). "Brain and eyes of Kerygmachela reveal protocerebral ancestry of the panarthropod head" (in en). Nature Communications 9 (1): 1019. doi:10.1038/s41467-018-03464-w. ISSN 2041-1723. PMID 29523785. Bibcode2018NatCo...9.1019P. 
  4. Ortega-Hernández, Javier (2016). "Making sense of 'lower' and 'upper' stem-group Euarthropoda, with comments on the strict use of the name Arthropoda von Siebold, 1848" (in en). Biological Reviews 91 (1): 255–273. doi:10.1111/brv.12168. ISSN 1469-185X. PMID 25528950. Bibcode2016BioRv..91..255O. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/brv.12168. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 Lerosey-Aubril, Rudy; Ortega-Hernández, Javier (May 2022). Zhang, Xi-Guang. ed. "A new lobopodian from the middle Cambrian of Utah: did swimming body flaps convergently evolve in stem-group arthropods?" (in en). Papers in Palaeontology 8 (3). doi:10.1002/spp2.1450. ISSN 2056-2799. Bibcode2022PPal....8E1450L. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/spp2.1450. 
  6. Leanchoilia guts and the interpretation of three-dimensional structures in Burgess Shale-type fossils, Paleobiology, http://paleobiol.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/reprint/28/1/155 
  7. Vannier, Jean; Liu, Jianni; Lerosey-Aubril, Rudy; Vinther, Jakob; Daley, Allison C. (2014-05-02). "Sophisticated digestive systems in early arthropods" (in en). Nature Communications 5 (1): 3641. doi:10.1038/ncomms4641. ISSN 2041-1723. PMID 24785191. Bibcode2014NatCo...5.3641V. 
  8. Moysiuk, Joseph; Caron, Jean-Bernard (2022). "A three-eyed radiodont with fossilized neuroanatomy informs the origin of the arthropod head and segmentation". Current Biology 32 (15): 3302–3316.e2. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.027. ISSN 0960-9822. PMID 35809569. Bibcode2022CBio...32E3302M. 
  9. Haug, Joachim T.; Waloszek, Dieter; Maas, Andreas; Liu, Yu; Haug, Carolin (March 2012). "Functional morphology, ontogeny and evolution of mantis shrimp-like predators in the Cambrian" (in en). Palaeontology 55 (2): 369–399. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2011.01124.x. ISSN 0031-0239. Bibcode2012Palgy..55..369H. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-4983.2011.01124.x. 

Further reading

  • Budd, G. E. (1999), "The morphology and phylogenetic significance of Kerygmachela kierkegaardi Budd (Buen Formation, Lower Cambrian, N Greenland)", Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 89 (4): 249–290, doi:10.1017/S0263593300002418 
  • Anomalocarid Homepage [1]
  • Palaeos - [2]

Template:Lobopodia Template:Dinocaridida Wikidata ☰ Q138450 entry