Cricocosmia jinningensis Hou & Sun, 1988

Taxonomy

Priapulid worm

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Priupulida Delage and Hérouard, 1897
Class: Palaeoscolecida Conway Morris et Robinson, 1986
Order: Cricocosmida Han et al. 2007
Family: Cricocosmiidae Hou et al., 1999
Genus: Cricocosmia
Species: Cricocosmia jinningensis
Author Citation Hou & Sun, 1988

Geological Time Scale

Eon: Phanerozoic
Era: Paleozoic
Period: Cambrian
Sub Period: None
Epoch: Series 2 Epoch
International Age: Stage 3

Stratigraphy

Heilinpu Formation

Provenance

Acquired by: Purchase/Trade

Dimensions

Length: 5 cm
Width: 0.2 cm

Location

Haikou (Town)
Kunming (Region)
Yunnan (Province)
China

• Cambrian
• cricocosmia jinningensis
• Haikou town
• Kunming
• qiongzhusi formation
• Yunnan

Comments

Taxonomy from Han er al., 2007.

Opinion on the taxonomy from Hou et al., 2017, p. 118: Cricocosmia 'shares some morphological similarities with many other Cambrian palaeoscolecid worms, a group that has usually been referred to either the Phylum Priapulida or the Phylum Nematomorpha (Hou & Bergström 1994; Huang 2005). Recent phylogenetic analyses have consistently resolved Cricocosmia as the sister taxon of Tabelliscolex, and together they are placed either as stem scalidophorans or, more likely, as stem priapulids.'

Emended diagnosis from Han et al. 2007, p. 425: 'Elongate trunk bears approximately 110 annuli that decrease in wide backwardly and usually form two subannuli on the dorsal side. Correspondingly, cone−shaped macrosclerites decrease in size and increase in height. Trunk with or without ventral spines.'
Reconstruction from Hou et al., 2017

 

References:
Hou Xian‐guang & Sun Wei‐guo (1988). Discovery of Chengjiang fauna at Meishucun, Jinning, Yunnan. Acta Palaeontologica Sinica, 27, 1–12 [in Chinese, with English summary].
Hou Xian‐guang & Bergström, J. (1994). Palaeoscolecid worms may be nematomorphs rather than annelids. Lethaia, 27, 11–17.
Huang Di‐ying (2005). Early Cambrian worms from SW China: morphology, systematics, lifestyles and evolutionary significance. PhD thesis, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, France, 247 pp.
Han, J., Liu, J., Zhang, Z., Zhang, X., and Shu, D. (2007). Trunk ornament on the palaeoscolecid worms Cricocosmia and Tabelliscolex from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang deposits of China. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 52 (2): 423–431.
Hou Xian‐guang, Aldridge, R.J., Bergström, J., Siveter, D.J., Siveter, D.J. & Feng Xiang‐hong. (2004a). The Cambrian Fossils of Chengjiang, China: The Flowering of Early Animal Life. 233pp. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK.
Xian-guang Hou, David J. Siveter, Derek J. Siveter, Richard J. Aldridge, Pei-yun Cong, Sarah E. Gabbott, Xiao-ya Ma, Mark A. Purnell, Mark Williams (2017). The Cambrian Fossils of Chengjiang, China: The Flowering of Early Animal Life. Second edition. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. DOI:10.1002/9781118896372.