云南晋宁梅树村剖面古蠕虫再研究

对云南晋宁梅树村剖面下寒武统黑林铺组(原筇竹寺组)玉案山段的蠕形动物化石Sabellidites yunnanensis Luo et Zhang,S.badaowanensis Luo et Zhang的模式标本进行重新研究,通过虫体躯干表皮骨板的排列方式与产于同一剖面相同层位的古蠕虫Mafangscolex sinensis Hu 2005以及Palaeoscolex sinensis Hou et Sun躯干体环上骨板排列方式进行对比,认为前3个种躯干表面骨板的排列方式完全相同,即每一体环均有5横排骨板,但与中华古蠕虫(Palaeoscolex sinensis)每一体环只有4横排大骨板的特征不相吻合。建议采用Mafangscolex yunnanensis作为前3者的属种名称,并以最早发表的Sabellidites yunnanensis Luo et Zhang作为该属的模式种。

Distinctive Scleritome with Marginal Tubercles of a New Palaeoscolecid Worm from the Shipai Fauna(Cambrian Epoch 2) at Three Gorges, South China

SEM analysis of trunk ornamentation on a compressed palaeoscolecid fossil from the Shipai fauna, Cambrian Series 2 and Stage 4 at Three Gorges, South China, allows a reassignment of the material to a new taxon, Sanxiascolex papillogyrus gen. et sp. nov. The preserved body is entirely annulated. Each annulus is ornamented by four rows of irregularly alternating plates and each plate bears numerous tubercles at the marginal region and a variable number （zero to six） of nodes at its central part. These features are unique among known palaeoscolecids. Comparative analyses with other compressed palaeoscolecid macrofossils and phosphatized material on the pattern of trunk ornamentation indicates that a detailed examination of the cuticle ornament weighs heavily in analyses of their taxonomic distinctions. A similar sclerite pattern to that of S. papillogyrus has been found in some phosphatized palaeoscolecid cuticle fragments as well as in isolated sclerites. The upper series of nodes and tubercles of these sclerites suggest an accretional mode of sclerite growth. The considerable variation in node number observed across the plates of S. papillogyrus demonstrates that phosphatic palaeoscolecid taxonomy based on relatively minor variations in the number of selerite nodes should perhaps be reconsidered. As the origins of the phosphatized specimens are quite diverse, a large variety of isolated sclerites from the Early Palaeozoic may not reflect actual biodiversity.