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on the bottom of the fossil are less porous and were likely used to keep the animal grounded, and the cells on the outside of the tube differ from those on the inside. The creature is asymmetrical. The fossil found was only about 1.1 millimeters tall and 1.2 millimeters wide, so it can be assumed that the species as a whole would be about the same size since there's no evidence indicating that the fossil found was not a fully grown specimen.
112:
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The specimen found is surprisingly similar to sponges alive today. The cellular structure is almost identical to some modern-day sponges, and the less porous basal side is also more consistent with modern sponges alive today. However, because its combination of traits does not resemble any one of the
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filter feeder that consisted of three tubes, with two smaller side tubes that were likely used to filter water in, and a large, twisted centre tube which was likely used to filter the water out. The cells inside the tubes are flat and porous, as would be expected in a filter feeder. The cells located
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This genus, if it is indeed a sponge, is significant mostly for the time period it was alive in. Until the discovery of this creature, the existence of sponges in the
Ediacaran was only theoretical. The specimen found is nevertheless a problem for theories of early sponge evolution, because all
452:
Cavalier-Smith, T. 2017. Origin of animal multicellularity: precursors, causes, consequences—the choanoflagellate/sponge transition, neurogenesis and the
Cambrian explosion. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 372: 20150476.
239:
As of yet, only one fossil of the genus has been found, but it was excellently preserved. The specific attributes for this genus have yet to be confirmed until more specimens are found.
406:
Zongjun, Yin, and Zhu Maoyan. 2015. Sponge grade body fossil with cellular resolution dating 60 Myr before the
Cambrian. PNAS, vol. 112, no. 12, 24 Mar. 2015, pp. 1453–1460. PNAS, doi:
334:
ancestor of all animals. So it was expected they would be found in "even stem group sponges", but there's no significant evidence to show that the specimen had any of these cells.
231:. The current fossil record has found this genus in only one location, the Doushantuo Formation in Guizhou, China. It lived in the shallow parts of seas, filter feeding.
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This is the location where the specimen was discovered. This formation consists of the shallow waters of the
Ediacaran and the rocks are made up of six layers of
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to the
Porifera since, unlike sponges, it "lacks evidence for an , the tiny putative intercellular spaces being insufficient evidence for
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and channels penetrating the body wall". Instead he interprets the animal as a "presponge" and groups it with the enigmatic fossil
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is not phylogenetically a member of the sponge line but represents an evolutionary grade out of which ancestral sponges arose.
277:. The fossil was found in a phosphorite rock near the lower layer of the rock formation. The specimen was fossilized through
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Yirka, Bob. 2015. Oldest known sponge found in China. Phys.org, 10 Mar. 2015.
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http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=324165
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was added to indicate that the genus is assessed as a sponge.
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Behrensmeyer, A. K., and A. Turner. 2013. Eocyathispongia.
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have a specific type of cell in their inner wall called
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https://phys.org/news/2015-03-oldest-sponge-china.html
297:, to describe what the creature looks like. The word
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337:Cavalier-Smith (2017) challenges the assignment of
293:meaning dawn, and the Greek word for cup-shaped,
330:, which are believed to be inherited from the
289:The name of the genus combines the Greek root
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223:of sponge-like organisms which lived in the
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359:(contrasting with the 'quilted' subphylum
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227:period about 60 million years before the
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314:, Yin et al. (2015) assign it to the
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119:Artists interpretation of E. qiani.
16:Extinct genus of sponge-like animals
570:Enigmatic prehistoric animal genera
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318:relative to all living sponges.
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305:Relationship and significance
565:Prehistoric animals of China
252:is the only species in the
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560:Prehistoric sponge genera
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125:Scientific classification
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377:List of Ediacaran genera
363:). If this is correct,
310:four extant classes of
322:members of the sponge
250:Eocyathispongia qiania
244:Eocyathispongia qiania
201:Eocyathispongia qiania
527:Paleobiology Database
265:Doushantuo Formation
555:Precambrian sponges
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514:Open Tree of Life
469:Taxon identifiers
256:genus. It was an
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207:Yin Zongjun, 2014
169:Yin Zongjun, 2014
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424:Fossilworks
361:Petalonamae
328:choanocytes
324:crown group
271:phosphorite
235:Description
549:Categories
383:References
316:stem group
575:Ediacaran
492:Q87770646
353:Varisarca
351:into the
295:cyathifer
285:Etymology
258:epifaunal
225:Ediacaran
175:Species:
131:Kingdom:
30:602
486:Wikidata
371:See also
357:Vendozoa
312:Porifera
275:dolomite
229:Cambrian
148:Porifera
143:Phylum:
136:Animalia
519:6374737
506:8445484
348:Funisia
299:spongia
156:Genus:
99:↓
532:324165
343:ostia
221:genus
219:is a
501:GBIF
273:and
38:PreꞒ
291:eo-
150:(?)
551::
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415:^
391:^
281:.
88:Pg
32:Ma
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199:†
179:†
160:†
93:N
83:K
78:J
73:T
68:P
63:C
58:D
53:S
48:O
43:Ꞓ
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