首页|Rapid growth in a large Cambrian apex predator

Rapid growth in a large Cambrian apex predator

扫码查看
原文链接
  • NETL
  • NSTL
  • 万方数据
Despite the importance of ontogenetic data on early diverging euarthropods to our understanding of the ecology and evolution of past life,the data are distinctly lacking,as reconstructing life histories of fossil animals is often challenging.Here we report the growth trajectory of frontal appendages of the apex predator Amplectobelua symbrachiata,one of the most common radiodont arthropods from the early Cambrian Chengjiang biota(c.520 Ma)of China.Analysis of432 specimens(9.1-137.1 mm length;1.3-25.6 mm height)reveals that appendages grew isometrically,with an estimated maximum size of the whole animal of c.90 cm.Individuals grew rapidly compared to extant arthropods,as assessed using the electronic length-frequency analysis(ELEFAN)approach.Therefore,we show that the Cambrian apex predator A.symbrachiata was an extremely fast-growing arthropod,with an unusual life history strategy that formed as part of the escalatory'arms race'that shaped the Cambrian explosion over 500 Ma.

stem-group EuarthropodaRadiodontapost-embryonic developmentgrowth dynamicsCambrian Explosion

吴雨、Stephen Pates、Daniel Pauly、张兴亮、傅东静

展开 >

State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics and Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Early Life and Environment,Department of Geology,Northwest University,Xi'an 710069,China

Department of Zoology,University of Cambridge,Cambridge CB2 3EJ,UK

Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries,University of British Columbia,Vancouver,BC V6T 1Z4,Canada

Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Nanjing 210008,China

展开 >

国家自然科学基金国家自然科学基金国家自然科学基金国家自然科学基金国家自然科学基金高等学校学科创新引智计划(111计划)中国科学院战略规划重点项目Natural Science Basic Research Plan of Shaanxi Province中国博士后科学基金Herchel Smith Postdoctoral Fellowship(University of Cambridge)

4193031942202011418908444189084542242201D17013XDB260000002022JC-DW5-012022M712570

2024

10.1093/nsr/nwad284

国家科学评论(英文版)

国家科学评论(英文版)

CSTPCD
ISSN：
年,卷(期)：2024.11(3)
  • 50