A new small soft-bodied non-Trilobite artiopod from the Cambrian Stage 4 Guanshan Biota

Abstract

We describe an extraordinarily preserved non-Trilobite artiopod Bailongia longicaudata gen. et sp. nov. from the Cambrian Stage 4 Guanshan Biota in Yiliang, Kunming of the Yunnan Province in China. Its exoskeleton consists of a large semi-elliptical cephalon with paired lateral posterior eyes, nine tapering homonomous tergites and a long slender tailspine. Appendages include paired small antennae, at least three pairs of post-Antennal cephalic limbs, and trunk biramous limbs consisting of an endopod and an exopod with lamellae. B. longicaudata does not conform to any taxon within Artiopoda, although the eyes invite comparisons with Xandarella spectaculum, Sinoburius lunaris and Phytophilaspis. Parsimony analyses indicate Bailongia is a member of Artiopoda and cannot be readily accommodated within any of the major artiopod clades.