Morphological and ecological disparity in naraoiids (Arthropoda) from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang Fauna, China

Abstract

Misszhouia longicaudata (Zhang and Hou) from the Chengjiang lagerstatte is separated from Naraoia Walcott by its antennular orientation, its smaller cephalic caeca and gut, lanceolate distal exopod lobe, and partial fusion of the exopod and first endopodal podomere. Naraoia spinosa Zhang and Hou (also from Chengjiang) shares derived characters with the type species, N. compacta. Deposit feeding is suggested for Naraoia spinosa by both morphology and preservational circumstances. New material shows previously unknown features in Misszhouia longicaudata, including frontal organs anterior to a sclerotised lobe of the hypostomal complex, the position of the mouth opening, details of antennule and biramous limb attachments, morphology of the sternites and limb rami, and the structure of the ventral cuticle in the cephalon and pleural areas.