Vetulicolia

Vetulicolia; Temporal range: about Fortunian—Drumian
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Superphylum:	Deuterostomia
Phylum:	†Vetulicolia; Shu et al. 2001
Type species
	†Vetulicola cuneata; Hou, 1987
Classes
	†Banffozoa; †Vetulicolida;

Vetulicolia^{[note 1]} is a phylum of bilaterian animals encompassing several extinct species belonging to the Cambrian period.^[1]^[2] The phylum was created by Degan Shu and his research team in 2001,^[3] and named after Vetulicola cuneata, the first species of the phylum described in 1987.^[4]

The vetulicolian body plan comprises two parts: a voluminous rostral (anterior) forebody, tipped with an anteriorly positioned mouth and lined with a lateral row of five round to oval-shaped openings on each side, which have been interpreted as gills (or at least orifices in the vicinity of the pharynx); and a caudal (posterior) section that primitively comprises seven body segments and functions as a tail. All vetulicolians lack preserved appendages of any kind, having no legs, feelers or even eye spots.^[5] The area where the anterior and posterior parts join is constricted.^[6]

Their taxonomic affinity has been uncertain; they have been considered to represent stem- and crown-group arthropods, stem-group vertebrates,^[7] and early deuterostomes (a group which as a whole includes the vertebrates, other invertebrate chordates, echinoderms and hemichordates). The general scientific consensus before 2001 considered them early limbless arthropods but now considers them early deuterostomes.^[8] Vetulicolian fossils examined in 2014 show the presence of notochord-like structures, and it was concluded that vetulicolians are crown-group chordates and probably related to modern tunicates.^[9] Research from 2017 rather indicates vetulicolians are related to Saccorhytus, another basal deuterostome group,^[10] although another study shows possibility that Saccorhytus is ecdysozoan instead of deuterostome.^[11]

Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

^ Shu, Degan (2005). "On the Phylum Vetulicolia". Chinese Science Bulletin. 50 (20): 2342–2354. Bibcode:2005ChSBu..50.2342S. doi:10.1007/BF03183746. ISSN 1001-6538. S2CID 86827605.
^ McMenamin, Mark A. S. (2019). "Cambrian Chordates and Vetulicolians". Geosciences. 9 (8): 354. Bibcode:2019Geosc...9..354M. doi:10.3390/geosciences9080354. ISSN 2076-3263.
^ Shu, D. G.; Conway Morris, S.; Han, J.; Chen, L.; Zhang, X. L.; Zhang, Z. F.; Liu, H. Q.; Li, Y.; Liu, J. N. (2001-11-22). "Primitive deuterostomes from the Chengjiang Lagerstätte (Lower Cambrian, China)". Nature. 414 (6862): 419–424. Bibcode:2001Natur.414..419S. doi:10.1038/35106514. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 11719797. S2CID 4345484.
^ Briggs, Derek E. G.; Fortey, Richard A. (2005). "Wonderful strife: systematics, stem groups, and the phylogenetic signal of the Cambrian radiation". Paleobiology. 31 (2_Suppl): 94–112. doi:10.1666/0094-8373(2005)031[0094:WSSSGA]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0094-8373. S2CID 44066226.
^ Ailin, C.; Hongzhen, F.; Maoyan, Z.H.U.; Dongsheng, M.A.; Ming, L.I. (2003), "A New Vetulicolian from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang Fauna in Yunnan of China", Acta Geologica Sinica, 77 (3): 281–287, doi:10.1111/j.1755-6724.2003.tb00742.x, S2CID 128895860^{[dead link]}
^ McMenamin, Mark A. S. (11 August 2019). "Cambrian Chordates and Vetulicolians". Geosciences. 9 (8): 354. Bibcode:2019Geosc...9..354M. doi:10.3390/geosciences9080354.
^ Shu, Degan (2003). "A paleontological perspective of vertebrate origin". Chinese Science Bulletin. 48 (8): 725–735. Bibcode:2003ChSBu..48..725S. doi:10.1007/BF03187041. S2CID 85163902.
^ Dominguez, Patricio and Jeffries, Richard. (2003). Fossil evidence on the origin of appendicularians. Paper read at International Urochordate Meeting 2003. Abstract at [2] – URL retrieved June 22, 2006.
^ García-Bellido, Diego C; Paterson, John R (2014). "A new vetulicolian from Australia and its bearing on the chordate affinities of an enigmatic Cambrian group". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 14: 214. doi:10.1186/s12862-014-0214-z. PMC 4203957. PMID 25273382.
^ Han, Jian; Conway Morris, Simon; Ou, Qiang; Shu, Degan; Huang, Hai (2017). "Meiofaunal deuterostomes from the basal Cambrian of Shaanxi (China)". Nature. 542 (7640): 228–231. Bibcode:2017Natur.542..228H. doi:10.1038/nature21072. PMID 28135722. S2CID 353780.
^ Liu, Yunhuan; Carlisle, Emily; Zhang, Huaqiao; Yang, Ben; Steiner, Michael; Shao, Tiequan; Duan, Baichuan; Marone, Federica; Xiao, Shuhai; Donoghue, Philip C. J. (2022-08-17). "Saccorhytus is an early ecdysozoan and not the earliest deuterostome". Nature. 609 (7927): 541–546. Bibcode:2022Natur.609..541L. doi:10.1038/s41586-022-05107-z. hdl:1983/454e7bec-4cd4-4121-933e-abeab69e96c1. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 35978194. S2CID 251646316.

[:2-2] Shu, Degan (2005). "On the Phylum Vetulicolia". Chinese Science Bulletin. 50 (20): 2342–2354. Bibcode:2005ChSBu..50.2342S. doi:10.1007/BF03183746. ISSN 1001-6538. S2CID 86827605.

[:1-3] McMenamin, Mark A. S. (2019). "Cambrian Chordates and Vetulicolians". Geosciences. 9 (8): 354. Bibcode:2019Geosc...9..354M. doi:10.3390/geosciences9080354. ISSN 2076-3263.

[:0-4] Shu, D. G.; Conway Morris, S.; Han, J.; Chen, L.; Zhang, X. L.; Zhang, Z. F.; Liu, H. Q.; Li, Y.; Liu, J. N. (2001-11-22). "Primitive deuterostomes from the Chengjiang Lagerstätte (Lower Cambrian, China)". Nature. 414 (6862): 419–424. Bibcode:2001Natur.414..419S. doi:10.1038/35106514. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 11719797. S2CID 4345484.

[:3-5] Briggs, Derek E. G.; Fortey, Richard A. (2005). "Wonderful strife: systematics, stem groups, and the phylogenetic signal of the Cambrian radiation". Paleobiology. 31 (2_Suppl): 94–112. doi:10.1666/0094-8373(2005)031[0094:WSSSGA]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0094-8373. S2CID 44066226.

[Ailin2003-6] Ailin, C.; Hongzhen, F.; Maoyan, Z.H.U.; Dongsheng, M.A.; Ming, L.I. (2003), "A New Vetulicolian from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang Fauna in Yunnan of China", Acta Geologica Sinica, 77 (3): 281–287, doi:10.1111/j.1755-6724.2003.tb00742.x, S2CID 128895860^{[dead link]}

[McMenamin,_2019-7] McMenamin, Mark A. S. (11 August 2019). "Cambrian Chordates and Vetulicolians". Geosciences. 9 (8): 354. Bibcode:2019Geosc...9..354M. doi:10.3390/geosciences9080354.

[Shu2003-8] Shu, Degan (2003). "A paleontological perspective of vertebrate origin". Chinese Science Bulletin. 48 (8): 725–735. Bibcode:2003ChSBu..48..725S. doi:10.1007/BF03187041. S2CID 85163902.

[9] Dominguez, Patricio and Jeffries, Richard. (2003). Fossil evidence on the origin of appendicularians. Paper read at International Urochordate Meeting 2003. Abstract at [2] – URL retrieved June 22, 2006.

[Paterson2014-10] García-Bellido, Diego C; Paterson, John R (2014). "A new vetulicolian from Australia and its bearing on the chordate affinities of an enigmatic Cambrian group". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 14: 214. doi:10.1186/s12862-014-0214-z. PMC 4203957. PMID 25273382.

[11] Han, Jian; Conway Morris, Simon; Ou, Qiang; Shu, Degan; Huang, Hai (2017). "Meiofaunal deuterostomes from the basal Cambrian of Shaanxi (China)". Nature. 542 (7640): 228–231. Bibcode:2017Natur.542..228H. doi:10.1038/nature21072. PMID 28135722. S2CID 353780.

[12] Liu, Yunhuan; Carlisle, Emily; Zhang, Huaqiao; Yang, Ben; Steiner, Michael; Shao, Tiequan; Duan, Baichuan; Marone, Federica; Xiao, Shuhai; Donoghue, Philip C. J. (2022-08-17). "Saccorhytus is an early ecdysozoan and not the earliest deuterostome". Nature. 609 (7927): 541–546. Bibcode:2022Natur.609..541L. doi:10.1038/s41586-022-05107-z. hdl:1983/454e7bec-4cd4-4121-933e-abeab69e96c1. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 35978194. S2CID 251646316.

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