Hallucigenia
Hallucigenia Temporal range:
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Fossil holotype of Hallucigenia sparsa from the Burgess Shale | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
(unranked): | Panarthropoda |
Phylum: | †"Lobopodia" |
Clade: | † Hallucishaniids
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Family: | †Hallucigeniidae |
Genus: | †Hallucigenia Conway Morris, 1977[1] |
Species | |
Synonyms | |
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Hallucigenia is a genus of
Description
Hallucigenia is a 0.5–5.5 cm (3⁄16–2+3⁄16 in)
Research in the mid-2010s clarified that the longer end is a head with anteroventral mouth and at least a pair of
Hallucigenia's spines are made up of one to four nested elements. The spine surface of H. sparsa is covered in an ornament of minute triangular 'scales',[13] while the spine surface of Hallucigenia hongmeia is a net-like texture of microscopic circular openings, which can be interpreted as the remains of Papillae.[9]
History of study
Hallucigenia sparsa was originally described by
An alternative interpretation considered Hallucigenia to be an appendage of a larger, unknown animal. There had been precedent for this, as Anomalocaris had been originally identified as three separate creatures before being identified as a single huge (for its time) 1-metre-long (3 ft) creature.[15]
In 1991, Lars Ramskold and
Affinity
External videos | |
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Hallucigenia: The worm with the missing head Nature Video, YouTube. |
Since the revisions around 1990s,
Below is a cladogram for Hallucigenia according to Yang et al., 2015:[18]
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Diversity
In 2002,
Three species of Hallucigenia have been described. The first specimen, Hallucigenia sparsa, was discovered in Canada. Two other species, H. fortis and H. hongmeia, are represented by the Maotianshan Shales' fossils of Chengjiang.[2][3]
Distribution
Hallucigenia was first described from the Burgess Shale in southeastern
In popular culture
Hallucigenia is featured in the Japanese anime Attack on Titan. Believed to be the origin of all living matter and pivotal to Ymir Fritz's transformation, the Hallucigenia begins the violent conflicts that make up the main storyline of the franchise. After Eren Yaeger is decapitated by Gabi Braun, the anomaly manifests from Eren's body and reattaches itself to his head.[24]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Conway Morris, S. (1977). "A new metazoan from the Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia" (PDF). Palaeontology. 20: 623–640. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ ISSN 0024-4082.
- ^ .
- ^ a b Zimmer, Carl (2 July 2015). "The Cambrian Explosion's Strange-Looking Poster Child". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
- ^ PMID 26439350.
- ^ ISSN 0031-0182.
- ^ S2CID 205244325.
- ^ PMID 30224988.
- ^ .
- ^ S2CID 205239797.
- PMID 22484085.
- ^ Morelle, Rebecca, Face of bizarre sea creature Hallucigenia revealed, BBCNews, Science and Environment, 2015.06.25
- ^ PMID 23902914.
- ^ WALCOTT, C. 1911. Cambrian Geology and Paleontology II. Middle Cambrian annelids. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 57(5): 109–145.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-393-02705-1.
- ^ S2CID 4309565.
- ^ .
- ^ PMID 26124122.
- PMID 27677816.
- PMID 28137244.
- ^ S2CID 225593728.
- ^ Collins, Desmond (2002). "Hallucigenia unveiled. Abstracts, Palaeontological Association, 46th annual meeting" (PDF). Palaeontology Newsletter. 51: 85–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016.
- S2CID 53646959.
- ^ Gonzalez, Sebastian Adolfo Osio (18 November 2023). "Attack on Titan Finale: What is the Hallucigenia Worm?". DualShockers. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
Further reading
- Smith, Martin R.; Ortega-Hernández, Javier (2014). "Hallucigenia's onychophoran-like claws and the case for Tactopoda" (PDF). Nature. 514 (7522): 363–6. S2CID 205239797.
- "Evolutionary misfit: Misunderstood worm-like fossil finds its place in the Tree of Life". ScienceDaily (Press release). 17 August 2014.
External links
- "Hallucigenia sparsa". Burgess Shale Fossil Gallery. Virtual Museum of Canada. 2011. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
- Hallucigenia sparsa at Smithsonian Museum of Natural History – (Internet Archive)
- Fossils found in Burgess Shale (in Spanish)
- A picture of Hallucigenia