Gaoloufangchaeta
| Gaoloufangchaeta bifurcus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| |
| Holotype specimen | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Annelida |
| Clade: | Pleistoannelida |
| Subclass: | Errantia |
| Genus: | †Gaoloufangchaeta Zhao, Li & Selden, 2023 |
| Species: | †G. bifurcus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Gaoloufangchaeta bifurcus Zhao, Li & Selden, 2023 | |
Gaoloufangchaeta is an extinct genus of polychaete worms from the Cambrian (Stage 4) Wulongqing Formation of China.[1] The type species is G. bifurcus. It may be a member of the Errantia annelids, implying members of the Annelida may have diverged from each other before the Cambrian. This dovetails with molecular studies recovering an Ediacaran origin of annelids.[2]
Gaoloufangchaeta had bicellular eyes and possible nuchal organs, meaning it developed strong sensory abilities.[1]
References
- ^ a b Zhao, Jun; Li, Yujing; Selden, Paul A. (2023-04-26). "A new primitive polychaete with eyes from the lower Cambrian Guanshan biota of Yunnan Province, China". Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 11. doi:10.3389/fevo.2023.1128070. ISSN 2296-701X.
- ^ Yang, Xiaoyu; Aguado, M. Teresa; Helm, Conrad; Zhang, Zhiqian; Bleidorn, Christoph (2024-04-10). "New fossil of Gaoloufangchaeta advances the origin of Errantia (Annelida) to the early Cambrian". Royal Society Open Science. 11 (4). doi:10.1098/rsos.231580. ISSN 2054-5703. PMC 11004674.