Megadictyon
Extinct genus of Cambrian lobopodian
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Megadictyon is a genus of Cambrian lobopodian with similarities to Jianshanopodia and Siberion. The name of the genus is occasionally mis-spelt as Magadictyon.[1]
| Megadictyon Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| |
| Reconstruction of Megadictyon cf. haikouensis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Stem group: | Euarthropoda |
| Genus: | Megadictyon Luo & Hu, 1999 |
| Species: | M. haikouensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Megadictyon haikouensis Luo & Hu, 1999 | |
Description
Megadictyon is a large lobopodian, with a body length (excluding appendages) possibly up to 20 centimeters in total.[2] The head has a pair of robust frontal appendages[3] associated with rows of spines and terminal claws.[2] Located on the underside of the head is a radiodont-like mouthpart formed by multiple layers of plates and tooth-like structures.[2] The trunk is wide and annulated, with a pair of well-developed lobopodous limbs on each body segment. Only 8 segment/limb pairs are countable in the incomplete fossil materials which are lacking the posterior region, so it may have had more (possibly up to 11 to 13) in nature.[2] It also has pairs of digestive glands similar to those of basal arthropods.[2][4]
Phylogeny
Phylogenetic position of Megadictyon according to Pates et al. (2022).[5]
.jpg){kind=small}