Eoandromeda and the origin of Ctenophora |
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| Authors: | Feng Tang Stefan Bengtson Yue Wang Xun‐lian Wang Chong‐yu Yin |
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| Institution: | 1. Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, , Beijing, 100037 China;2. Key Laboratory of Stratigraphy and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, , Beijing, 100037 China;3. Department of Palaeozoology and Nordic Center for Earth Evolution, Swedish Museum of Natural History, , Box 50007, Stockholm, Sweden;4. School of Resources and Environment, Guizhou University, , Guiyang, 550003 China;5. School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, , Beijing, 100083 China |
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| Abstract: | The Ediacaran fossil Eoandromeda octobrachiata had a high conical body with eight arms in helicospiral arrangement along the flanks. The arms carried transverse bands proposed to be homologous to ctenophore ctenes (comb plates). Eoandromeda is interpreted as an early stem‐group ctenophore, characterized by the synapomorphies ctenes, comb rows, and octoradial symmetry but lacking crown‐group synapomorphies such as tentacles, statoliths, polar fields, and biradial symmetry. It probably had a pelagic mode of life. The early appearance in the fossil record of octoradial ctenophores is most consistent with the Planulozoa hypothesis (Ctenophora is the sister group of Cnidaria + Bilateria) of metazoan phylogeny. |
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