A fresh look at the Hyolithid Doliutheca from the Early Cambrian (Stage 4) Shipai Formation of the Three Gorges Area, Hubei, South China

Biology

Fan Liu¹  Christian B. Skovsted¹  Timothy P. Topper¹  Zhifei Zhang¹ 

[1] State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Early Life and Environments, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China;

关键词: hyoliths;    Cambrian;    South China;    taxonomy;    taphonomy;   

DOI  :  10.3390/biology11060875

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

New hyolith specimens from the early Cambrian (Stage 4) of the Three Gorges area, western Hubei Province are described and assigned to the species Doliutheca orientalis. Doliutheca are preserved in two taphonomic modes: casts in silty mudstone revealing gross morphology and some soft parts, and internal molds in calcareous pelites, which exhibit new morphological details of the conch and operculum. SEM and Micro-CT analyses show that Doliutheca preserve well-developed platy clavicles and cardinal processes on the interior of the operculum composed of rod-shaped tubular elements. This observation and the distinct cardinal and conical shields of the operculum indicate that Doliutheca could be placed within the Family Paramicrocornidae, most recently established as a group of hyoliths closely related to hyolithids.

【 授权许可】

Unknown