Article,
A giant stem-group chaetognath
Contributors
Nielsen, Morten Lunde
0000-0002-4719-6317
[1]
[3]
[4]
Parry, Luke A
0000-0002-3910-0346
[5]
Sørensen, Martin Vinther
0000-0002-0377-0276
[6]
Kihm, Ji-Hoon
0000-0001-8605-6272
[1]
[2]
Park, Changkun
0000-0002-1206-6803
[1]
De Vivo, Giacinto
0000-0002-6979-8319
[7]
Smith, M Paul
0000-0002-5141-1577
[5]
Harper, David Alexander Taylor
0000-0003-1315-9494
[8]
Nielsen, Arne Thorshøj Nielsen
0000-0001-8194-8546
[6]
Vinther, Jakob A
0000-0002-3584-9616
(Corresponding author)
[4]
Affiliations
- [1] Korea Polar Research Institute [NORA names: South Korea; Asia, East; OECD];
- [2] Korea University of Science and Technology [NORA names: South Korea; Asia, East; OECD];
- [3] British Geological Survey [NORA names: United Kingdom; Europe, Non-EU; OECD];
- [4] University of Bristol [NORA names: United Kingdom; Europe, Non-EU; OECD];
- [5] University of Oxford [NORA names: United Kingdom; Europe, Non-EU; OECD];
(... more)
Abstract
Chaetognaths, with their characteristic grasping spines, are the oldest known pelagic predators, found in the lowest Cambrian (Terreneuvian). Here, we describe a large stem chaetognath, Timorebestia koprii gen. et sp. nov., from the lower Cambrian Sirius Passet Lagerstätte, which exhibits lateral and caudal fins, a distinct head region with long antennae and a jaw apparatus similar to Amiskwia sagittiformis. Amiskwia has previously been interpreted as a total-group chaetognathiferan, as either a stem-chaetognath or gnathostomulid. We show that T. koprii shares a ventral ganglion with chaetognaths to the exclusion of other animal groups, firmly placing these fossils on the chaetognath stem. The large size (up to 30 cm) and gut contents in T. koprii suggest that early chaetognaths occupied a higher trophic position in pelagic food chains than today.
