Wufengella

Wufengella
Temporal range: Early Cambrian
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Clade: Lophophorata
Stem group: "Tommotiida"
Genus: Wufengella
Guo et al., 2022
Species:
W. bengtsoni
Binomial name
Wufengella bengtsoni
Guo et al., 2022

Wufengella is a genus of extinct camenellan "tommotiid" that lived during the Early Cambrian (Stage 3). Described in 2022, the only species Wufengella bengtsonii was discovered from the Maotianshan Shales of Chiungchussu (Qiongzhusi) Formation in Yunnan, China.[1] The fossil indicates that the animal was an armoured worm that close to the common ancestry of the phyla Phonorida, Brachiozoa and Bryozoa, which are collectively grouped into a clade called Lophophorata.[2]

  1. ^ Guo, Jin; Parry, Luke A.; Vinther, Jakob; Edgecombe, Gregory D.; Wei, Fan; Zhao, Jun; Zhao, Yang; Béthoux, Olivier; Lei, Xiangtong; Chen, Ailin; Hou, Xianguang; Chen, Taimin; Cong, Peiyun (2022). "A Cambrian tommotiid preserving soft tissues reveals the metameric ancestry of lophophorates". Current Biology. 32 (21): S0960–9822(22)01455–5. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2022.09.011. ISSN 1879-0445. PMID 36170853.
  2. ^ Gasparini, Allison (2022-10-13). "This ancient worm might be an important evolutionary missing link". ScienceNews. Retrieved 2022-10-14.