Jianshanopodia

Jianshanopodia is a monotypic genus of Cambrian lobopodian, discovered from Maotianshan Shales of Yunnan, China.

Description


Jianshanopodia resemble the closely-related siberiid Megadictyon. The head possess a pair of frontal, grasping appendages bear wedge-shaped plates. The pharynx was surrounded by rows of denticles, resembles those of radiodonts and priapulids. The trunk was annulated and possesses a pair of stout legs (lobopods) per body segment. Due to the lack of a complete specimen, the exact number of body segments/leg pair is uncertain. If 12 body segments present, the living animal might grew over 20 cm. Each of the leg was lined up with rows of tubercles and tree-like branches, instead of being tipped with claws as many lobopodians are. The trunk terminated with a large median lobe and a pair of small lateral lobes, forming a fan-like structure. Inside the trunk was a sediment-filled gut surrounded by serially repeated diverticulae.

Jianshanopodia was suggested to be mainly crawled on the sea floor, but could swim with its fan-like tail when necessary. The leg branches might function as external gills. It is thought to be predatory and have sucked up prey with its short 'trunk', consuming food items with its robust mouthparts and gut diverticulae.

Phylogeny
Phylogenetic position of Jianshanopodia according to Pates et al. (2022).