Chinese Journal of Nature ›› 2014, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (1): 24-33.

• Review Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Research progress and prospects of Cambrian medusae from South China

HAN Jian①,LI Guo-xiang②,KUBOTA Shin③,WANG Xing④,OU Qiang⑤   

  1. ①Associate Professor, ④Master, Early Life Institute and State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China; ②Professor, State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; ③Professor, Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, Field Science Education and Research Center, Kyoto University, Shirahama, Wakayama, Japan; ⑤Associate Professor, Early Life Evolution Laboratory, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
  • Received:2013-11-13 Revised:2013-12-13 Online:2014-02-25 Published:2014-02-25

Abstract: We introduced the fossil records of medusa in brief and discussed the radial symmetry, body plan, life history, and exoskeleton of ancestral medusae. It is hypothesized that major clades of superclass medusa should have derived prior to that of ballerinas at the dawn of Cambrian explosion. The Cambrian medusae should be classified as sessile benthic and pelagic forms.

Key words: Cambrian, Kuanchuanpu biota, Chengjiang biota, cnidarian, bilaterian, exoskeleton