The anatomy, affinity, and phylogenetic significance of Markuelia

A New Chengjiang Worm Sheds Light on the Radiation and Disparity in Early Priapulida

The vast majority of early Paleozoic ecdysozoan worms are often resolved as stem-group Priapulida based on resemblances with the rare modern representatives of the group, such as the structure of the introvert and the number and distribution of scalids (a spiny cuticular outgrowth) and pharyngeal teeth. In Priapulida, both scalids and teeth create symmetry patterns, and three major diagnostic features are generally used to define the group: 25 longitudinal rows of scalids (five-fold symmetry), 8 scalids around the first introvert circle and the pentagonal arrangement of pharyngeal teeth. Here we describe Ercaivermis sparios gen. et sp. nov., a new priapulid from the early Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstätte, characterized by an annulated trunk lacking a sclerotized ornament, four pairs of anal hooks and 16 longitudinal rows of scalids along its introvert and eight scalids around each introvert circle, giving the animal an unusual octoradial symmetry. Cladistic analyses resolve Ercaivermis as a stem-group priapulid. Ercaivermis also suggests that several biradial symmetry patterns (e.g., pentagonal, octagonal) expressed in the cuticular ornament, may have co-existed among early Cambrian priapulids and that the pentaradial mode may have become rapidly dominant during the course of evolution, possibly via the standardization of patterning, i.e., the natural selection of one symmetry type over others.

Internal anatomy of a fossilized embryonic stage of the Cambrian-Ordovician scalidophoran Markuelia

The Wangcun fossil Lagerstätte in Hunan, South China, has yielded hundreds of fossilized embryos of Markuelia hunanensis representing different developmental stages. Internal tissues have only rarely been observed, impeding further understanding of the soft tissue anatomy, phylogenetic affinity and evolutionary significance of Markuelia. In this study, we used synchrotron radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM) to study a new collection of fossil embryos from the Wangcun fossil Lagerstätte. We describe specimens exhibiting a spectrum of preservation states, the best of which preserves palisade structures underneath the cuticle of the head and tail, distinct from patterns of centripetal mineralization of the cuticle and centrifugal mineralization of hypha-like structures, seen elsewhere in this specimen and other fossils within the same assemblage. Our computed tomographic reconstruction of these mineralization phases preserves the gross morphology of (i) longitudinal structures associated with the tail spines, which we interpret as the proximal ends of longitudinal muscles, and (ii) a ring-shaped structure internal to the introvert, which we interpret as a ring-shaped brain, as anticipated of the cycloneuralian affinity of Markuelia. This is the first record of a fossilized nervous system in a scalidophoran, and the first instance in Orsten-style preservation, opening the potential for further such records within this widespread mode of high-fidelity three-dimensional preservation.

Caught in the act: priapulid burrowers in early Cambrian substrates

The fossilized traces of burrowing worms have taken on a considerable importance in studies of the Cambrian explosion, partly because of their use in defining the base of the Cambrian. Foremost among these are the treptichnids, a group of relatively large open probing burrows that have sometimes been assigned to the activities of priapulid scalidophoran worms. Nevertheless, most Cambrian burrows have an uncertain progenitor. Here we report a suite of exceptionally preserved trace and body fossils from sandstones of the lower Cambrian (Stage 4) File Haidar Formation of southern Sweden that can unequivocally be assigned to a scalidophoran producer. We further present the first burrow casts produced via actualistic experiments on living priapulids, and demonstrate the remarkable morphological parallels between these modern and Cambrian fossil equivalents. In addition, co-occurrence of scalidophoran-derived cuticular remains permits a unique synthesis of evidence from trace fossil, body and organic remains. Comparative analysis of these exceptionally preserved fossils supports a scalidophoran producer for treptichnids and by extension suggests a latest Ediacaran origin of the ecdysozoan clade.

Exceptional Fossil Conservation through Phosphatization

This paper addresses the taphonomic processes responsible for fossil preservation in calcium phosphate, or phosphatization. Aside from silicification and rarer examples of carbonaceous compression, phosphatization is the only taphonomic mode claimed to preserve putative subcellular structures. Because this fossilization window can record such valuable information, a comprehensive understanding of its patterns of occurrence and the geochemical processes involved in the replication of soft tissues are critical endeavors. Fossil phosphatization was most abundant during the latest Neoproterozoic through the early Paleozoic, coinciding with the decline of non-pelletal phosphorite deposits. Its temporal abundance during this timeframe makes it a particularly valuable window for the study of early animal evolution. Several occurrences of phosphatization from the Ediacaran through the Permian Period, including Doushantuo-type preservation of embryo-like fossils and acritarchs, phosphatized gut tracts within Burgess Shale-type carbonaceous compressions, Orsten-type preservation of meiofaunas, and other cases from the later Paleozoic are reviewed. In addition, a comprehensive description of the geochemical controls of calcium phosphate precipitation from seawater is provided, with a focus on the rates of phosphate nucleation and growth, favorable nucleation substrates, and properties of substrate tissue and pore-fluid chemistry. It is hoped that the paleontological and geochemical summaries provided here offer a practical and valuable guide to the Neoproterozoic–Paleozoic phosphatization window.

Fenxiang biota: a new Early Ordovician shallow-water fauna with soft-part preservation from China

Our perception of biodiversity in the geological past is incomplete and biased because most organisms did not have mineralized skeletons and therefore had little chance of fossilization. This especially refers to shallow-water marine environments, rarely represented by localities with exceptional preservation of fossil material (known as taphonomic windows or Konservat-Lagerstätten). Such extraordinary “windows” may markedly broaden our knowledge of biodiversity of the past. Here, we show a review of the invertebrate fossils from recently discovered locality in the Lower Ordovician Fenxiang Formation of Hubei Province in southern China revealing exceptional preservation of soft tissues. The fauna, generally of shallow-water aspect, contains linguloid brachiopods with a remarkably preserved pedicle, the oldest traces of nematode life activities, the oldest reliable record of hydroids, the first fossil antipatharian corals, a pyritized colonial organism of unknown affinity, supposed arthropod appendages, probable phosphatized scalidophoran worm embryo and other fossils. Our discovery supports the opinion that the famous soft-bodied preservation of Burgess Shale- or Chengjiang-type did not vanish from the fossil record in post-Cambrian times. The new finding represents a prelude to the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event and provides evidence for calibration of molecular clock of several invertebrate lineages.

The oldest known priapulid-like scalidophoran animal and its implications for the early evolution of cycloneuralians and ecdysozoans

Morphological phylogenetic analyses suggest that scalidophorans (priapulids, loriciferans, and kinorhynchs) and nematoids (nematodes and nematomorphs) form the ecdysozoan clade Cycloneuralia, which is a sister group to panarthropods. It has been proposed that extant priapulids and Cambrian priapulid-like scalidophorans, because of their conserved evolution, have the potential to illuminate the ancestral morphology, ecology, and developmental biology of highly derived ecdysozoans such as nematods and arthropods. As such, Cambrian fossils, particularly Markuelia and possibly olivooids, can inform the early evolution of scalidophorans, cycloneuralians, and ecdysozoans. However, the scalidophoran Markuelia is known exclusively as embryo fossils, and the olivooids have been alternatively interpreted as cnidarians or cycloneuralians. Here, we describe a post-embryonic scalidophoran fossil Eopriapulites sphinx new genus and species, which represents the oldest known scalidophoran, from the early Cambrian Period (∼535 Ma) in South China. E. sphinx is similar to modern scalidophorans in having an introvert armed with hollow scalids, a collar with coronal scalids, and a pharynx with pharyngeal teeth, but its scalids and pharyngeal teeth are arranged in a hexaradial pattern. Phylogenetically resolved as a stem-group scalidophoran, E. sphinx shares a hexaradial pattern with the hexaradial arrangement of certain anatomical structures in kinorhynchs, loriciferans, nematoids, and Cambrian fossils such as Eolympia pediculata, which could also be a scalidophoran. Thus, the bodyplan of ancestral cycloneuralians may have had a component of hexaradial symmetry (i.e., some but not necessarily all anatomical parts are hexaradially arranged). If panarthropods are nested within paraphyletic cycloneuralians, as several molecular phylogenetic analyses suggest, the ancestral ecdysozoans may have been a legless worm possibly with a component of hexaradial symmetry.

Life cycle and morphology of a cambrian stem-lineage loriciferan

Cycloneuralians form a rich and diverse element within Cambrian assemblages of exceptionally preserved fossils. Most resemble priapulid worms whereas other Cycloneuralia (Nematoda, Nematomorpha, Kinorhyncha, Loricifera), well known at the present day, have little or no fossil record. First reports of Sirilorica Peel, 2010 from the lower Cambrian Sirius Passet fauna of North Greenland described a tubular lorica covering the abdomen and part of a well developed introvert with a circlet of 6 grasping denticles near the lorica. The introvert is now known to terminate in a narrow mouth tube, while a conical anal field is also developed. Broad muscular bands between the plates in the lorica indicate that it was capable of movement by rhythmic expansion and contraction of the lorica. Sirilorica is regarded as a macrobenthic member of the stem-lineage of the miniaturised, interstitial, present day Loricifera. Like loriciferans, Sirilorica is now known to have grown by moulting. Evidence of the life cycle of Sirilorica is described, including a large post-larval stage and probably an initial larva similar to that of the middle Cambrian fossil Orstenoloricusshergoldii.

The disparity of priapulid, archaeopriapulid and palaeoscolecid worms in the light of new data

Priapulids and their extinct relatives, the archaeopriapulids and palaeoscolecids, are vermiform, carnivorous ecdysozoans with an armoured, extensible proboscis. These worms were an important component of marine communities during the Palaeozoic, but were especially abundant and diverse in the Cambrian. Today, they comprise just seven genera in four families. Priapulids were among the first groups used to test hypotheses concerning the morphological disparity of Cambrian fossils relative to the extant fauna. A previous study sampled at the generic level, concluding that Cambrian genera embodied marginally less morphological diversity than their extant counterparts. Here, we sample predominantly at the species level and include numerous fossils and some extant forms described in the last fifteen years. Empirical morphospaces for priapulids, archaeopriapulids and palaeoscolecids are relatively insensitive to changes in the taxon or character sample: their overall form has altered little, despite the markedly improved sampling. Cambrian and post-Cambrian genera occupy adjacent rather than broadly overlapping regions of these spaces, and Cambrian species still show lower morphological disparity than their post-Cambrian counterparts. Crucially, the significance of this difference has increased with improved taxon sampling over research time. In contrast with empirical morphospaces, the phylogeny of priapulids, archaeopriapulids and palaeoscolecids derived from morphological characters is extremely sensitive to details of taxon sampling and the manner in which characters are weighted. However, the extant Priapulidae and Halicryptidae invariably resolve as sister families, with this entire clade subsequently being sister group to the Maccabeidae. In our most inclusive trees, the extant Tubiluchidae are separated from these other living taxa by a number of small, intervening fossil clades.

Are palaeoscolecids ancestral ecdysozoans?

The reconstruction of ancestors is a central aim of comparative anatomy and evolutionary developmental biology, not least in attempts to understand the relationship between developmental and organismal evolution. Inferences based on living taxa can and should be tested against the fossil record, which provides an independent and direct view onto historical character combinations. Here, we consider the nature of the last common ancestor of living ecdysozoans through a detailed analysis of palaeoscolecids, an early and extinct group of introvert-bearing worms that have been proposed to be ancestral ecdysozoans. In a review of palaeoscolecid anatomy, including newly resolved details of the internal and external cuticle structure, we identify specific characters shared with various living nematoid and scalidophoran worms, but not with panarthropods. Considered within a formal cladistic context, these characters provide most overall support for a stem-priapulid affinity, meaning that palaeoscolecids are far-removed from the ecdysozoan ancestor. We conclude that previous interpretations in which palaeoscolecids occupy a deeper position in the ecdysozoan tree lack particular morphological support and rely instead on a paucity of preserved characters. This bears out a more general point that fossil taxa may appear plesiomorphic merely because they preserve only plesiomorphies, rather than the mélange of primitive and derived characters anticipated of organisms properly allocated to a position deep within animal phylogeny.

Parallel evolution of segmentation by co-option of ancestral gene regulatory networks

Different sources of data on the evolution of segmentation lead to very different conclusions. Molecular similarities in the developmental pathways generating a segmented body plan tend to suggest a segmented common ancestor for all bilaterally symmetrical animals. Data from paleontology and comparative morphology suggest that this is unlikely. A possible solution to this conundrum is that throughout evolution there was a parallel co-option of gene regulatory networks that had conserved ancestral roles in determining body axes and in elongating the anterior-posterior axis. Inherent properties in some of these networks made them easily recruitable for generating repeated patterns and for determining segmental boundaries. Phyla where this process happened are among the most successful in the animal kingdom, as the modular nature of the segmental body organization allowed them to diverge and radiate into a bewildering array of variations on a common theme.

Deciphering the fossil record of early bilaterian embryonic development in light of experimental taphonomy

Experimental analyses of decay in a tunicate deuterostome and three lophotrochozoans indicate that the controls on decay and preservation of embryos, identified previously based on echinoids, are more generally applicable. Four stages of decay are identified regardless of the environment of death and decay. Embryos decay rapidly in oxic and anoxic conditions, although the gross morphology of embryos is maintained for longer under anoxic conditions. Under anoxic reducing conditions, the gross morphology of the embryos is maintained for the longest period of time, compatible with the timescale required for bacterially mediated mineralization of soft tissues. All four stages of decay were encountered under all environmental conditions, matching the spectrum of preservational qualities encountered in all fossil embryo assemblages. The preservation potential of embryos of deuterostomes and lophotrochozoans is at odds with the lack of such embryos in the fossil record. Rather, the fossil record of embryos, as sparse as it is, is dominated by forms interpreted as ecdysozoans, cnidarians, and stem-metazoans. The dearth of deuterostome and lophotrochozoan embryos may be explained by the fact that ecdysozoans, at least, tend to deposit their eggs in the sediment rather than through broadcast spawning. However, fossil embryos remain very rare and the main controlling factor on their fossilization may be the unique conspiracy of environmental conditions at a couple of sites. The preponderance of fossilized embryos of direct developers should not be used in evidence against the existence of indirect development at this time in animal evolutionary history.

Fossils Impact as Hard as Living Taxa in Parsimony Analyses of Morphology

Systematists disagree whether data from fossils should be included in parsimony analyses. In a handful of well-documented cases, the addition of fossil data radically overturns a hypothesis of relationships based on extant taxa alone. Fossils can break up long branches and preserve character combinations closer in time to deep splitting events. However, fossils usually require more interpretation than extant taxa, introducing greater potential for spurious codings. Moreover, because fossils often have more "missing" codings, they are frequently accused of increasing numbers of MPTs, frustrating resolution and reducing support. Despite the controversy, remarkably little is known about the effects of fossils more generally. Here we provide the first systematic study, investigating empirically the behavior of fossil and extant taxa in 45 published morphological data sets. First-order jackknifing is used to determine the effects that each terminal has on inferred relationships, on the number of MPTs, and on CI' and RI as measures of homoplasy. Bootstrap leaf stabilities provide a proxy for the contribution of individual taxa to the branch support in the rest of the tree. There is no significant difference in the impact of fossil versus extant taxa on relationships, numbers of MPTs, and CI' or RI. However, adding individual fossil taxa is more likely to reduce the total branch support of the tree than adding extant taxa. This must be weighed against the superior taxon sampling afforded by including judiciously coded fossils, providing data from otherwise unsampled regions of the tree. We therefore recommend that investigators should include fossils, in the absence of compelling and case specific reasons for their exclusion.

Mitogenomics and phylogenomics reveal priapulid worms as extant models of the ancestral Ecdysozoan

Research into arthropod evolution is hampered by the derived nature and rapid evolution of the best-studied out-group: the nematodes. We consider priapulids as an alternative out-group. Priapulids are a small phylum of bottom-dwelling marine worms; their tubular body with spiny proboscis or introvert has changed little over 520 million years and recognizable priapulids are common among exceptionally preserved Cambrian fossils. Using the complete mitochondrial genome and 42 nuclear genes from Priapulus caudatus, we show that priapulids are slowly evolving ecdysozoans; almost all these priapulid genes have evolved more slowly than nematode orthologs and the priapulid mitochondrial gene order may be unchanged since the Cambrian. Considering their primitive bodyplan and embryology and the great conservation of both nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, priapulids may deserve the popular epithet of "living fossil." Their study is likely to yield significant new insights into the early evolution of the Ecdysozoa and the origins of the arthropods and their kin as well as aiding inference of the morphology of ancestral Ecdysozoa and Bilateria and their genomes.

Synchrotron X-ray tomographic microscopy of fossil embryos

Fossilized embryos from the late Neoproterozoic and earliest Phanerozoic have caused much excitement because they preserve the earliest stages of embryology of animals that represent the initial diversification of metazoans. However, the potential of this material has not been fully realized because of reliance on traditional, non-destructive methods that allow analysis of exposed surfaces only, and destructive methods that preserve only a single two-dimensional view of the interior of the specimen. Here, we have applied synchrotron-radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM), obtaining complete three-dimensional recordings at submicrometre resolution. The embryos are preserved by early diagenetic impregnation and encrustation with calcium phosphate, and differences in X-ray attenuation provide information about the distribution of these two diagenetic phases. Three-dimensional visualization of blastomere arrangement and diagenetic cement in cleavage embryos resolves outstanding questions about their nature, including the identity of the columnar blastomeres. The anterior and posterior anatomy of embryos of the bilaterian worm-like Markuelia confirms its position as a scalidophoran, providing new insights into body-plan assembly among constituent phyla. The structure of the developing germ band in another bilaterian, Pseudooides, indicates a unique mode of germ-band development. SRXTM provides a method of non-invasive analysis that rivals the resolution achieved even by destructive methods, probing the very limits of fossilization and providing insight into embryology during the emergence of metazoan phyla.

Darwin's dilemma: the realities of the Cambrian 'explosion'

The Cambrian 'explosion' is widely regarded as one of the fulcrum points in the history of life, yet its origins and causes remain deeply controversial. New data from the fossil record, especially of Burgess Shale-type Lagerstätten, indicate, however, that the assembly of bodyplans is not only largely a Cambrian phenomenon, but can already be documented in fair detail. This speaks against a much more ancient origin of the metazoans, and current work is doing much to reconcile the apparent discrepancies between the fossil record, including the Ediacaran assemblages of latest Neoproterozoic age and molecular 'clocks'. Hypotheses to explain the Cambrian 'explosion' continue to be generated, but the recurrent confusion of cause and effect suggests that the wrong sort of question is being asked. Here I propose that despite its step-like function this evolutionary event is the inevitable consequence of Earth and biospheric change.

Experimental taphonomy shows the feasibility of fossil embryos

The recent discovery of apparent fossils of embryos contemporaneous with the earliest animal remains may provide vital insights into the metazoan radiation. However, although the putative fossil remains are similar to modern marine animal embryos or larvae, their simple geometric forms also resemble other organic and inorganic structures. The potential for fossilization of animals at such developmental stages and the taphonomic processes that might affect preservation before mineralization have not been examined. Here, we report experimental taphonomy of marine embryos and larvae similar in size and inferred cleavage mode to presumptive fossil embryos. Under conditions that prevent autolysis, embryos within the fertilization envelope can be preserved with good morphology for sufficiently long periods for mineralization to occur. The reported fossil record exhibits size bias, but we show that embryo size is unlikely to be a major factor in preservation. Under some conditions of death, fossilized remains will not accurately reflect the cell structure of the living organism. Although embryos within the fertilization envelope have high preservation potential, primary larvae have negligible preservation potential. Thus the paleo-embryological record may have strong biases on developmental stages preserved. Our data provide a predictive basis for interpreting the fossil record to unravel the evolution of ontogeny in the origin of metazoans.

Fossilized embryos are widespread but the record is temporally and taxonomically biased

We report new discoveries of embryos and egg capsules from the Lower Cambrian of Siberia, Middle Cambrian of Australia and Lower Ordovician of North America. Together with existing records, embryos have now been recorded from four of the seven continents. However, the new discoveries highlight secular and systematic biases in the fossil record of embryonic stages. The temporal window within which the embryos and egg capsules are found is of relatively short duration; it ends in the Early Ordovician and is roughly coincident with that of typical "Orsten"-type faunas. The reduced occurrence of such fossils has been attributed to reducing levels of phosphate in marine waters during the early Paleozoic, but may also be owing to the increasing depth of sediment mixing by infaunal metazoans. Furthermore, most records younger than the earliest Cambrian are of a single kind-large eggs and embryos of the priapulid-like scalidophoran Markuelia. We explore alternative explanations for the low taxonomic diversity of embryos recovered thus far, including sampling, size, anatomy, ecology, and environment, concluding that the preponderance of Markuelia embryos is due to its precocious development of cuticle at an embryonic stage, predisposing it to preservation through action as a substrate on which microbially mediated precipitation of authigenic calcium phosphate may occur. The fossil record of embryos may be limited to a late Neoproterozoic to early Ordovician snapshot that is subject to dramatic systematic bias. Together, these biases must be considered seriously in attempts to use the fossil record to arbitrate between hypotheses of developmental and life history evolution implicated in the origin of metazoan clades.