Megadictyon

Megadictyon is a genus of cambrian lobopodian with similarites to Jianshanopodia and Siberion. Occasionally mis-spelt Magadictyon.[1]

Megadictyon
Temporal range: Cambrian Stage 3
Reconstruction of Megadictyon cf. haikouensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
Siberiida
Family:
Siberiidae
Genus:
Megadictyon
Luo & Hu, 1999
Species:
M. haikouensis

Megadictyon is a large lobopodian, with body length (excluding appendages) possibly up to 20 centimeters in total.[1] The head has a pair of robust frontal appendages[2] associated with rows of spine and terminal claws.[1] Underside the head is a radiodont-like mouthpart forming by multiple layers of plates and teeth-like structures.[1] The trunk is wide and annulated, with a pair of well-developed lobopodous limbs on each body segment. Only 8 segment/limb pairs are countable in the incomplete fossil materials which lacking posterior region, so it may have had more (possibly up to 11 to 13) in nature.[1] It also has pairs of digestive glands similar to those of basal arthropods.[1][3]

References

  1. LIU, J.-N., SHU, D.-G., HAN, J., ZHANG, Z.-F. and ZHANG, X.-L. (2007). "Morpho-anatomy of the lobopod ~Magadictyon~ [sic] cf. ~haikouensis~ from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstätte, South China". Acta Zoologica. 88: 279–288. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6395.2007.00281.x.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  2. LIU, J.-N., SHU, D.-G., HAN, J., ZHANG, Z.-F. and ZHANG, X. (2008). "Origin, diversification, and relationships of Cambrian lobopods". Gondwana Research. 14 (1–2): 277–283. Bibcode:2008GondR..14..277L. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2007.10.001.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  3. Vannier, Jean; Liu, Jianni; Lerosey-Aubril, Rudy; Vinther, Jakob; Daley, Allison C (2014). "Sophisticated digestive systems in early arthropods". Nature Communications. 5: 3641. Bibcode:2014NatCo...5E3641V. doi:10.1038/ncomms4641. PMID 24785191.


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