''Jianfengia'' is an extinct genus of

Middle Cambrian Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

(

Atdabanian Cambrian Stage 3 is the still unnamed third stage of the Cambrian. It succeeds Cambrian Stage 2 and precedes Cambrian Stage 4, although neither its base nor top have been formally defined. The plan is for its lower boundary to correspond approx ...

)

megacheira Megacheira ("great hands") is an extinct class of predatory arthropods that possessed a pair of great appendages, hence the class name as well as the common name "great appendage arthropods". Their taxonomic position is controversial, with stud ...

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chiti ...

found in the

Maotianshan Shale The Maotianshan Shales are a series of Early Cambrian deposits in the Chiungchussu Formation, famous for their '' Konservat Lagerstätten'', deposits known for the exceptional preservation of fossilized organisms or traces. The Maotianshan Shales ...

Lagerstätte A Lagerstätte (, from ''Lager'' 'storage, lair' '' Stätte'' 'place'; plural ''Lagerstätten'') is a sedimentary deposit that exhibits extraordinary fossils with exceptional preservation—sometimes including preserved soft tissues. These f ...

of China. It contains the single species ''Jianfengia multisegmentalis''.''Jianfengia''
in the

Paleobiology Database The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals, plants, and microorganisms. History The Paleobiology Database (PBDB) originated in the NCEAS-funded Phanerozoic Marine Pale ...

The body is extremely elongated, though the animal itself was relatively small at less than in length. The head has a pair of stalked eyes, a

hypostome In zoology, the hypostome can refer to structures in distinct animal groups: *Hypostome (trilobite), the ventral mouthpart plate in trilobites *Hypostome (tick) The hypostome (also called the maxilla, radula, or labium) is a calcified harpoo ...

/ labrum complex, a pair of great appendages with five podomeres, and four pairs of

biramous The arthropod leg is a form of jointed appendage of arthropods, usually used for walking. Many of the terms used for arthropod leg segments (called podomeres) are of Latin origin, and may be confused with terms for bones: ''coxa'' (meaning hip, plu ...

limbs. The maximum known number of trunk segments is 27, though most known specimens have 20, which are associated with pairs of

appendages, and the body ends with a

telson The telson () is the posterior-most division of the body of an arthropod. Depending on the definition, the telson is either considered to be the final segment of the arthropod body, or an additional division that is not a true segment on accou ...

spine. It has been placed as a member of the family Jiangfengiidae, alongside ''

Fortiforceps ''Fortiforceps'' is an extinct genus of Cambrian megacheiran arthropod known from the Chengjiang biota of Yunnan, China. It was originally described by Hou and Bergström in 1997,X. Hou and J. Bergström. 1997Arthropods of the Lower Cambrian Ch ...

'' and ''

Sklerolibyon ''Sklerolibyon'' is an extinct genus of megacheiran arthropod, known from the Cambrian aged Chengjiang biota of Yunnan, China. It is a member of the family Jianfengiidae, alongside '' Jianfengia'' and ''Fortiforceps,'' and possibly also ''Par ...

'' as well as possibly ''

Parapeytoia ''Parapeytoia'' was a prehistoric arthropod that lived over 530 million years ago (Cambrian Stage 3) in the Maotianshan shales of prehistoric China. It was interpreted as an anomalocaridid (radiodont) with legs, but later studies reveal it was ...

''.

References

Megacheira Cambrian arthropods Cambrian animals of Asia Cambrian Series 2 first appearances Maotianshan shales fossils Fossil taxa described in 1987 Prehistoric arthropod genera {{Paleo-arthropod-stub Cambrian genus extinctions

See also

References