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

ABSTRACT: 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 structure

SUBMITTER: Dong XP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9532980 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature