Ecdysis in a stem-group euarthropod from the early Cambrian of China

Abstract Moulting is a fundamental component of the ecdysozoan life cycle, but the fossil record of this strategy is susceptible to preservation biases, making evidence of ecdysis in soft-bodied organisms extremely rare. Here, we report an exceptional specimen of the fuxianhuiid Alacaris mirabilis p...

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Autores principales:	Jie Yang, Javier Ortega-Hernández, Harriet B. Drage, Kun-sheng Du, Xi-guang Zhang
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2019
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/b76d5443cb2c48b2b796b07919a4e220
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:b76d5443cb2c48b2b796b07919a4e2202021-12-02T15:09:56ZEcdysis in a stem-group euarthropod from the early Cambrian of China10.1038/s41598-019-41911-w2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/b76d5443cb2c48b2b796b07919a4e2202019-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-41911-whttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Moulting is a fundamental component of the ecdysozoan life cycle, but the fossil record of this strategy is susceptible to preservation biases, making evidence of ecdysis in soft-bodied organisms extremely rare. Here, we report an exceptional specimen of the fuxianhuiid Alacaris mirabilis preserved in the act of moulting from the Cambrian (Stage 3) Xiaoshiba Lagerstätte, South China. The specimen displays a flattened and wrinkled head shield, inverted overlap of the trunk tergites over the head shield, and duplication of exoskeletal elements including the posterior body margins and telson. We interpret this fossil as a discarded exoskeleton overlying the carcass of an emerging individual. The moulting behaviour of A. mirabilis evokes that of decapods, in which the carapace is separated posteriorly and rotated forward from the body, forming a wide gape for the emerging individual. A. mirabilis illuminates the moult strategy of stem-group Euarthropoda, offers the stratigraphically and phylogenetically earliest direct evidence of ecdysis within total-group Euarthropoda, and represents one of the oldest examples of this growth strategy in the evolution of Ecdysozoa.Jie YangJavier Ortega-HernándezHarriet B. DrageKun-sheng DuXi-guang ZhangNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 9, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2019)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Jie Yang Javier Ortega-Hernández Harriet B. Drage Kun-sheng Du Xi-guang Zhang Ecdysis in a stem-group euarthropod from the early Cambrian of China
description	Abstract Moulting is a fundamental component of the ecdysozoan life cycle, but the fossil record of this strategy is susceptible to preservation biases, making evidence of ecdysis in soft-bodied organisms extremely rare. Here, we report an exceptional specimen of the fuxianhuiid Alacaris mirabilis preserved in the act of moulting from the Cambrian (Stage 3) Xiaoshiba Lagerstätte, South China. The specimen displays a flattened and wrinkled head shield, inverted overlap of the trunk tergites over the head shield, and duplication of exoskeletal elements including the posterior body margins and telson. We interpret this fossil as a discarded exoskeleton overlying the carcass of an emerging individual. The moulting behaviour of A. mirabilis evokes that of decapods, in which the carapace is separated posteriorly and rotated forward from the body, forming a wide gape for the emerging individual. A. mirabilis illuminates the moult strategy of stem-group Euarthropoda, offers the stratigraphically and phylogenetically earliest direct evidence of ecdysis within total-group Euarthropoda, and represents one of the oldest examples of this growth strategy in the evolution of Ecdysozoa.
format	article
author	Jie Yang Javier Ortega-Hernández Harriet B. Drage Kun-sheng Du Xi-guang Zhang
author_facet	Jie Yang Javier Ortega-Hernández Harriet B. Drage Kun-sheng Du Xi-guang Zhang
author_sort	Jie Yang
title	Ecdysis in a stem-group euarthropod from the early Cambrian of China
title_short	Ecdysis in a stem-group euarthropod from the early Cambrian of China
title_full	Ecdysis in a stem-group euarthropod from the early Cambrian of China
title_fullStr	Ecdysis in a stem-group euarthropod from the early Cambrian of China
title_full_unstemmed	Ecdysis in a stem-group euarthropod from the early Cambrian of China
title_sort	ecdysis in a stem-group euarthropod from the early cambrian of china
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2019
url	https://doaj.org/article/b76d5443cb2c48b2b796b07919a4e220
work_keys_str_mv	AT jieyang ecdysisinastemgroupeuarthropodfromtheearlycambrianofchina AT javierortegahernandez ecdysisinastemgroupeuarthropodfromtheearlycambrianofchina AT harrietbdrage ecdysisinastemgroupeuarthropodfromtheearlycambrianofchina AT kunshengdu ecdysisinastemgroupeuarthropodfromtheearlycambrianofchina AT xiguangzhang ecdysisinastemgroupeuarthropodfromtheearlycambrianofchina
_version_	1718387774820712448

Ecdysis in a stem-group euarthropod from the early Cambrian of China

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