Symbiotic fouling of Vetulicola, an early Cambrian nektonic animal

Yujing Li; Mark Williams; Thomas H P Harvey; Fan Wei; Yang Zhao; Jin Guo; Sarah Gabbott; Tom Fletcher; Xianguang Hou; Peiyun Cong

doi:10.1038/s42003-020-01244-1

Symbiotic fouling of Vetulicola, an early Cambrian nektonic animal

Commun Biol. 2020 Sep 18;3(1):517. doi: 10.1038/s42003-020-01244-1.

Authors

Yujing Li^{1

2

3}, Mark Williams^{4

5}, Thomas H P Harvey^{4

5}, Fan Wei^{6

4}, Yang Zhao^{6

4}, Jin Guo^{6

4

7}, Sarah Gabbott^{4

5}, Tom Fletcher^{4

5}, Xianguang Hou^{6

4}, Peiyun Cong^{8

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China. yujingli@ynu.edu.cn.
² MEC International Joint Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China. yujingli@ynu.edu.cn.
³ State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, China. yujingli@ynu.edu.cn.
⁴ MEC International Joint Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China.
⁵ Centre for Palaeobiology Research, School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK.
⁶ Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China.
⁷ Management Committee of the Chengjiang Fossil Site World Heritage, Chengjiang, 652599, China.
⁸ Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China. cong@ynu.edu.cn.
⁹ MEC International Joint Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China. cong@ynu.edu.cn.
¹⁰ State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210008, China. cong@ynu.edu.cn.

Abstract

Here, we report the earliest fossil record to our knowledge of surface fouling by aggregates of small vermiform, encrusting and annulated tubular organisms associated with a mobile, nektonic host, the enigmatic Cambrian animal Vetulicola. Our material is from the exceptionally preserved early Cambrian (Epoch 2, Age 3), Chengjiang biota of Yunnan Province, southwest China, a circa 518 million-year old marine deposit. Our data show that symbiotic fouling relationships between species formed a component of the diversification of animal-rich ecosystems near the beginning of the Phanerozoic Eon, suggesting an early escalation of intimate ecologies as part of the Cambrian animal radiation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Aquatic Organisms / genetics
Aquatic Organisms / physiology*
Biological Evolution*
Biota / genetics
Biota / physiology*
China / epidemiology
Ecosystem
Fossils
Paleontology
Symbiosis / physiology*