Rapid growth in a large Cambrian apex predator  

作　　者：吴雨 Stephen Pates Daniel Paulyi 张兴亮 傅东静 Yu Wu;Stephen Pates;Daniel Pauly;Xingliang Zhang;Dongjing Fu(State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics and Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Early Life and Environment,Department of Geology,Northwest University,Xi’an 710069,China;Department of Zoology,University of Cambridge,Cambridge CB23EJ,UK;Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries,University of British Columbia,Vancouver,BC V6T 1Z4,Canada;Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Nanjing 210008,China)

机构地区：[1]State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics and Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Early Life and Environment,Department of Geology,Northwest University,Xi’an 710069,China [2]Department of Zoology,University of Cambridge,Cambridge CB23EJ,UK [3]Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries,University of British Columbia,Vancouver,BC V6T 1Z4,Canada [4]Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Nanjing 210008,China

出　　处：《National Science Review》2024年第3期122-130,共9页国家科学评论（英文版）

基　　金：supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41930319,42202011,41890844,41890845 and 42242201);the 111 Project(D17013);the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDB26000000);the Natural Science Basic Research Plan of Shaanxi Province(2022JC-DW5-01);supported by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(2022M712570);supported by a Herchel Smith Postdoctoral Fellowship(University of Cambridge).

摘　　要：Despite the importance of ontogenetic data on early diverging euarthropods to our understanding of the ecology and evolution of past life,the data are distinctly lacking,as reconstructing life histories of fossil animals is often challenging.Here we report the growth trajectory of frontal appendages of the apex predator Amplectobelua symbrachiata,one of the most common radiodont arthropods from the early Cambrian Chengjiang biota(c.520 Ma)of China.Analysis of 432 specimens(9.1-137.1 mm length;1.3-25.6 mm height)reveals that appendages grew isometrically,with an estimated maximum size of the whole animal of c.90 cm.Individuals grew rapidly compared to extant arthropods,as assessed using the electronic length-frequency analysis(ELEFAN)approach.Therefore,we show that the Cambrian apex predator A.symbrachiata was an extremely fast-growing arthropod,with an unusual life history strategy that formed as part of the escalatory‘arms race’that shaped the Cambrian explosion over 500 Ma.

关 键 词：stem-group Euarthropoda Radiodonta post-embryonic development growth dynamics Cambrian Explosion 

分 类 号：O782[理学—晶体学]