New observations on Vetulicola longbaoshanensis from the Lower Cambrian Guanshan Biota(Series 2, Stage 4), South China

Cambrian vetulicolians are enigmatic metazoans which play an important role in understanding the early animal evolution. Vetulicola longbaoshanensis Yang et al., 2010 is a unique species reported from the Guanshan Biota, Cambrian Series2, Stage 4 at eastern Yunnan, South China, which expands our understanding of vetulicolians. Here, new exceptionally preserved materials of V. longbaoshanensis from the Lower Cambrian Wulongqing Formation(which yields the so-called Guanshan Biota)in both Wuding and Kunming areas are described, in which the gill structures of V. longbaoshanensis are well preserved. The gill structures of our fossils are more complicated than those in the type species: the gill sac is gourd-shaped and can be divided into a smaller anterior part and a larger posterior part, prominent gill silt and dense gill filaments present in the joint of the two parts. Comparative analyses indicate that vetulicolians from the Guanshan Biota are similar to the Vetulicola rectangulata Luo et Hu, 1999 from the Chengjiang Biota in gross morphology. However, compared with the V. rectangulata, the Guanshan forms possess a larger body size, a higher length/height ratio of anterior body, and a higher ratio of gill sac width to anterior body height, probably typifying the derive characters anticipated of vetulicolians. These new materials, therefore, shed new light on our understanding of vetulicolians morphology and the early evolution of the gill structures.