Ventral Morphology of the Non-Trilobite Artiopod Retifacies abnormalis Hou, Chen & Lu, 1989, from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang Biota, China.

Abstract

Simple SummaryThis study reveals the detailed ventral morphology of the enigmatic Cambrian non-biomineralized euarthropod Retifacies abnormalis from the early Cambrian of South China through the use of micro-computer tomography and three-dimensional modelling. The ventral morphology of R. abnormalis includes five pairs of cephalic appendages in three forms (one uniramous antenna pair, three uniramous appendage pairs, one biramous appendage pair), biramous trunk appendages with multilamellar exites, a variable number of pygidial appendage pairs (five or six) and a multi-articulated tailspine with two pairs of short lobe-like accessories. The new anatomical data inform the ecology and evolution of R. abnormalis in the broader evolutionary context of trilobite-like euarthropods known from sites of exceptional preservation. R. abnormalis possessed a higher degree of appendage differentiation along the body than initially thought, in parallel to similar discoveries of other trilobitomorphs such as Naraoia spinosa, Pygmaclypeatus daziensis, and Sinoburius lunaris. This discovery provides additional support to the hypothesis that early trilobitomorphs were ancestrally characterized by heteronomous ventral appendages with various degrees of functional specialization for feeding and respiration. The artiopodans represent a diverse group of euarthropods with a typically flattened dorsal exoskeleton that covers numerous pairs of biramous ventral appendages, and which are ubiquitous faunal components of the 518-million-year-old Chengjiang Lagerstätte in South China. Despite their abundance, several Chengjiang artiopodans remain poorly known, such as the large euarthropoda Retifacies abnormalis, Hou, Chen & Lu, 1989, which is distinguished by the presence of mesh-like ornamentation on its dorsal exoskeleton. Although only a few ventral details were described in a single study in 25 years, it has been frequently featured in phylogenetic analyses that explore the relationships between Cambrian euarthropods. Here, we employ micro-CT and fluorescent microphotography to investigate the exceptionally preserved ventral morphology of R. abnormalis and explore its phylogenetic implications through maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference. Detailed morphology revealed here better supports R. abnormalis as a sister group to the diminutive artiopod Pygmaclypeatus daziensis, also known from Chengjiang, and strengthens the close relationship of these taxa that have been suggested by previous studies as early-branching representatives of Trilobitomorpha. Cephalic appendages suggest this animal might be a scavenger, possibly feeding on soft-bodied organisms. Different pairs of pygidial appendages suggest an anamorphic post-embryonic ontogeny, which adds to the understanding of the developmental mode of Cambrian artiopods, and further supports the statement that post-hatching segment addition occurred in the ancestor of Euarthropoda.