Megadictyon
| Megadictyon Temporal range:
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| File:20191118 Megadictyon cf. haikouensis.png | |
| Reconstruction of Megadictyon cf. haikouensis | |
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| Genus: | †Megadictyon Luo & Hu, 1999
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| Species: | †M. haikouensis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Megadictyon haikouensis Luo & Hu, 1999
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Megadictyon is a genus of Cambrian lobopodian with similarities to Jianshanopodia and Siberion. The name of the genus is occasionally mis-spelt as Magadictyon.[1]
Description
[edit | edit source]Megadictyon is a large lobopodian, with a body length (excluding appendages) possibly up to 20 centimeters in total.[2] The head has a pair of robust frontal appendages[3] associated with rows of spines and terminal claws.[2] Located on the underside of the head is a radiodont-like mouthpart formed by multiple layers of plates and tooth-like structures.[2] The trunk is wide and annulated, with a pair of well-developed lobopodous limbs on each body segment. Only 8 segment/limb pairs are countable in the incomplete fossil materials which are lacking the posterior region, so it may have had more (possibly up to 11 to 13) in nature.[2] It also has pairs of digestive glands similar to those of basal arthropods.[2][4]
Phylogeny
[edit | edit source]Phylogenetic position of Megadictyon according to Pates et al. (2022).[5]
References
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