''Vetulicola cuneata'' ("Wedged-shaped ancient dweller") is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of small, Early

Cambrian The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized C with bar, Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million ...

deuterostome Deuterostomia (; in Greek) are animals typically characterized by their anus forming before their mouth during embryonic development. The group's sister clade is Protostomia, animals whose digestive tract development is more varied. Some exampl ...

animals from the Chengjiang biota of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Description

''Vetulicola cuneata'' has a body composed of two distinct parts of approximately equal length. The anterior part is rectangular in shape, and enclosed by a

carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...

-like structure of four rigid

cuticular A cuticle (), or cuticula, is any of a variety of tough but flexible, non-mineral outer coverings of an organism, or parts of an organism, that provide protection. Various types of "cuticle" are non- homologous, differing in their origin, structu ...

plates fused together, with a large, V-shaped mouth at the front end: there is a keel-like extension of the body wall on the top and belly. The tail-like posterior section is slender, strongly cuticularised and placed

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

ly. Paired openings connecting the

pharynx The pharynx (plural: pharynges) is the part of the throat behind the mouth and nasal cavity, and above the oesophagus and trachea (the tubes going down to the stomach and the lungs). It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates, though its struc ...

to the outside run down the sides. These features are interpreted as possible primitive

gill slit Gill slits are individual openings to gills, i.e., multiple gill arches, which lack a single outer cover. Such gills are characteristic of cartilaginous fish such as sharks and rays, as well as deep-branching vertebrates such as lampreys. In con ...

s. ''Vetulicola cuneata'' could be up to 7 cm long.

Lifestyle

It is assumed that ''V. cuneata'' spent most or all of its time swimming in the water column. Sediment found within the gut suggest that it was a deposit-feeder, possibly swimming to and from favorable feeding sites. Some specimens that had individuals of the putative

entoproct Entoprocta (), or Kamptozoa , is a phylum (biology), phylum of mostly Sessility (zoology), sessile aquatic animals, ranging from long. Mature individuals are goblet-shaped, on relatively long stalks. They have a "crown" of solid tentacles whos ...

, '' Cotyledion tyloides'' attached to the terminal tail segment lead one researcher to speculate that ''V. cuneata'' lay buried in the sediment, with only its terminal segment exposed, but, nothing about its anatomy, or the

taphonomy Taphonomy is the study of how organisms decay and become fossilized or preserved in the paleontological record. The term ''taphonomy'' (from Greek , 'burial' and , 'law') was introduced to paleontology in 1940 by Soviet scientist Ivan Efremov t ...

of its fossils, suggest that it was a burrower. Rather, it was more likely that larval ''C. tyloides'' would occasionally settle on the terminal segment, then take advantage of serendipity to feed whenever their host discharged nutrient-rich fecal matter.

References

*Butterfield, Nicholas J. 2003. Exceptional Fossil Preservation and the Cambrian Explosion. ''Integrative and Comparative Biology''. 43(1):166-177

- URL retrieved June 22, 2006 *Dominguez, Patricio and Jefferies, Richard. 2003. Fossil evidence on the origin of appendicularians. International Urochordate Meeting 2003. Abstract a

- URL retrieved June 22, 2006 *LUO, Huilin, FU, Xiaoping, HU, Shixue, LI, Yong, CHEN, Liangzhong, YOU, Ting and LIU, Qi. 2005. New Vetulicoliids from the Lower Cambrian Guanshan Fauna,

Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

. Abstract a

- URL retrieved June 30, 2008 *Shu, D.-G., Conway Morris, S., Han, J., Chen, L., Zhang, X.-L., Zhang, Z.-F., Liu, H.-Q., Li, Y., and Liu, J.-N. 2001. Primitive Deuterostomes from the Chengjiang Lagerstätte (Lower Cambrian, China), ''Nature'', 414:419-424. (November 11, 2001). Abstract a

- URL retrieved June 30, 2008 *Shu, Degan. 2003. A paleontological perspective of vertebrate origin. ''Chinese Science Bulletin'', Vol. 48 No. 8 725–735. April, 2003. Abstract a

- URL retrieved June 30, 2008

External links

Biota of the Maotianshan Shale, Chengjiang China
- URL retrieved June 22, 2006 *

Palaeos Palaeos.com is a web site on biology, paleontology, phylogeny and geology and which covers the history of Earth. The site is well respected and has been used as a reference by professional paleontologists such as Michael J. Benton, the professor of ...

' Page on

Vetulicolia VetulicoliaThe taxon name, Vetulocolia, is derived from the type genus, ''Vetulicola'', which is a compound Latin word composed of ''vetuli'' "old" and ''cola'' "inhabitant". is a taxon (either phylum or subphylum in rank) encompassing several ex ...

br>Photos of ''Vetulicola cuneata'' fossils
- URL retrieved June 22, 2006 {{Taxonbar, from=Q7923844 Vetulicolia Fossil taxa described in 1987