Fuxianhuiids
Publication information:
J. Ortega-Hernández, J. Yang, and X. G. Zhang. 2018. “Fuxianhuiids”. Current Biology, 28, 13, Pp. R724-R725
Abstract
The fuxianhuiids — of which there are eight species described so far —are a clade of extinct soft-bodied euarthropods (colloquially: arthropods) that are known
from early Cambrian marine deposits in South China (Figure 1). They are widely
regarded as distant relatives of extant euarthropod groups — namely arachnids,
myriapods, crustaceans and insects. The exceptional preservation of their fossils
has provided unique information on their morphology (Figure 2). Fuxianhuiids
have contributed towards a better understanding of the early evolutionary
radiation of euarthropods —the most successful animal phylum in the history
of life on Earth — and led to a detailed reconstruction of the origin of the
euarthropod body plan.
from early Cambrian marine deposits in South China (Figure 1). They are widely
regarded as distant relatives of extant euarthropod groups — namely arachnids,
myriapods, crustaceans and insects. The exceptional preservation of their fossils
has provided unique information on their morphology (Figure 2). Fuxianhuiids
have contributed towards a better understanding of the early evolutionary
radiation of euarthropods —the most successful animal phylum in the history
of life on Earth — and led to a detailed reconstruction of the origin of the
euarthropod body plan.