Onychodictyon Temporal range:
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Onychodictyon ferox fossil from Chengjiang | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
(unranked): | Panarthropoda |
Phylum: | † "Lobopodia" |
Class: | † Xenusia |
Order: | † Paronychophora |
Family: | † Onychodictyidae |
Genus: | †
Onychodictyon Hou, Ramsköld, & Bergström, 1991 |
Type species | |
Onychodictyon ferox Hou, Ramsköld, & Bergström, 1991
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Species | |
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Onychodictyon is a genus of extinct lobopodian known from the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang Maotianshan Shales in the Yunnan Province in China. [1] It was characterized by a stout body covered by fleshy papillae and pairs of sclerotized plates with spines, [2] [1] [3] representing part of the diverse "armoured lobopodians" alongside similar forms such as Microdictyon and Hallucigenia. [1]
The maximum length of Onychodictyon is 70 mm (2.8 in). [1] It has a resemblance to Microdictyon (net-like sclerite ornament) [4] but also Aysheaia and tardigrade (basally-fused terminal leg pair). [5] Each leg have a pair of curved claws that are thought to have aided Onychodictyon climb onto other organisms. [6] Onychodictyon sclerites appear to have molted with some specimens exhibiting perfectly conjoined plates from successive molts. [7]
Onychodictyon is represented by two species: O. ferox which has a pair of simple eyes and feathery antenniform appendages on its head; [3] and O. gracilis which has a blunt front end without evidence of any appendages. [1]