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Problematic Porifera from the Lower Cambrian of Western Mongolia

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Abstract

A new species of problematic microfossil of the genus Aetholicopalla Conway Morris in Bengtson et al., 1990 is described from the lower Tommotian (lower Cambrian) of the Hevte-Tsakhir-Nuruu Ridge in Western Mongolia. These microfossils are sometimes dominant in Early Cambrian taphocoenoses. A. grandipora sp. nov. is a spheroidal organism with an initially carbonate (?) skeleton; planktonic and benthic forms are described; the latter are variable in shape and substrate attachment sites. The outer wall of the fossils is perforated, thin, double; the functional implication of the pores is unclear; an internal cavity is present. These organisms were probably filter feeders. Geochemical analysis of various taphomorphs showed that A. grandipora sp. nov. are preserved because of phosphate and siliceous mineralization at the early stages of fossilization. Based on a set of observed characters Aetholicopalla is assigned to the earliest skeletal Porifera, of unclear systematic position; perhaps these were juveniles of organisms related to archaeocyaths.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to Academician A.Yu. Rozanov for general management of the research topic, Academician M.A. Fedonkin for constant friendly participation and fruitful discussion of the manuscript, A.Yu. Ivantsov for discussion of the material, critical reading of the manuscript, and useful remarks, R.A. Rakitov for help in microscopic studies, Yu.E. Demidenko and P.Yu. Parkhaev for identification of Cambrian microfossils and advice on scientific processing of the material, I.M. Bobrovskiy, A.Yu. Zhuravlev and A.L. Nagovitsyn for help with some references, F.A. Lozovoy for help with statistical histograms, S.V. Nikolaeva for translation.

Funding

The work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, grant no. 20-55-44010 Mong_a.

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  1. Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117647, Moscow, Russia

    E. A. Luzhnaya, E. A. Zhegallo, L. V. Zaitseva & A. L. Ragozina

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  1. E. A. Luzhnaya
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Luzhnaya, E.A., Zhegallo, E.A., Zaitseva, L.V. et al. Problematic Porifera from the Lower Cambrian of Western Mongolia. Paleontol. J. 57, 256–269 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030123030103

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