Friday, July 31, 2026
No menu items!
HomeNatureEarliest siphuncle-bearing cephalopod from the early Cambrian

Earliest siphuncle-bearing cephalopod from the early Cambrian

  • Kröger, B., Vinther, J. & Fuchs, D. Cephalopod origin and evolution: a congruent picture emerging from fossils, development and molecules. Bioessays 33, 602–613 (2011).

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Walcott, C. D. Cambrian faunas of China. Proc. US Natl Mus. 29, 1–106 (1905).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Kocot, K. M., Poustka, A. J., Stöger, I., Halanych, K. M. & Schrödl, M. New data from Monoplacophora and a carefully-curated dataset resolve molluscan relationships. Sci. Rep. 10, 101 (2020).

    Article 
    ADS 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Song, H. et al. Scaphopoda is the sister taxon to Bivalvia: evidence of ancient incomplete lineage sorting. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 120, e2302361120 (2023).

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Brusca, R. C., Moore, W. & Shuster, S. M. Invertebrates 3rd edn (Sinauer Associates, 2016).

  • Kobayashi, T. The Ancestory of the Cephalopoda from Helcionella to Plectronoceras. Proc. Jpn Acad. 63, 135–138 (1987).

    Article 
    ADS 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Mutvei, H. Restudy of some plectronocerid nautiloids (Cephalopoda) from the late Cambrian of China; discussion on nautiloid evolution and origin of the siphuncle. GFF 142, 115–124 (2020).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Chen, J.-Y. & Teichert, C. Cambrian cephalopods from China. Palaeontogr. Abt. A 181, 1–102 (1983).


    Google Scholar
     

  • Kröger, B. Cambrian-Ordovician cephalopod palaeogeography and diversity. Geol. Soc. Lond. Mem. 38, 429–448 (2013).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Fang, X., Kröger, B., Zhang, Y.-D., Zhang, Y.-B. & Chen, T.-E. Palaeogeographic distribution and diversity of cephalopods during the Cambrian–Ordovician transition. Palaeoworld 28, 51–57 (2019).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Pohle, A. et al. Early cephalopod evolution clarified through Bayesian phylogenetic inference. BMC Biol. 20, 88 (2022).

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Shigeno, S. et al. Evolution of the cephalopod head complex by assembly of multiple molluscan body parts: evidence from Nautilus embryonic development. J. Morphol. 269, 1–17 (2008).

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Yochelson, E. L., Flower, R. H. & Webers, G. F. The bearing of the new Late Cambrian monoplacophoran genus Knightoconus upon the origin of the Cephalopoda. Lethaia 6, 275–309 (1973).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Webers, G. F. & Yochelson, E. L. Late Cambrian molluscan faunas and the origin of the Cephalopoda. Geol. Soc. Lond. Spec. Pub. 47, 29–42 (1989).

    Article 
    ADS 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Peel, J. S. The classes Tergomya and Helcionelloida, and early molluscan evolution. Grønl. Geol. Unders. Bull. 161, 11–65 (1991).


    Google Scholar
     

  • Pojeta, J. & Runnegar, B. The paleontology of rostroconch molluscs and the early history of the phylum Mollusca. US Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap. 968, 1–88 (1976).


    Google Scholar
     

  • Brock, G. A. & Paterson, J. R. A new species of Tannuella (Helcionellida, Mollusca) from the Early Cambrian of South Australia. Mem. Ass. Aust. Palaeont. 30, 133–143 (2004).


    Google Scholar
     

  • Dzik, J. Brachiopod identity of the alleged monoplacophoran ancestors of cephalopods. Malacologia 52, 97–113 (2010).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Dzik, J. Origin of the Cephalopoda. Acta Palaeontol. Pol. 26, 161–191 (1981).


    Google Scholar
     

  • Moysiuk, J., Smith, M. R. & Caron, J.-B. Hyoliths are Palaeozoic lophophorates. Nature 541, 394–397 (2017).

    Article 
    ADS 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Sun, H.-J. et al. Hyoliths with pedicles illuminate the origin of the brachiopod body plan. Proc. R. Soc. B 285, 20181780 (2018).

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Liu, F., Skovsted, C. B., Topper, T. P., Zhang, Z.-F. & Shu, D.-G. Are hyoliths Palaeozoic lophophorates? Natl Sci. Rev. 7, 453–469 (2020).

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Li, L.-Y., Skovsted, C. B., Yun, H., Betts, M. J. & Zhang, X.-L. New insight into the soft anatomy and shell microstructures of early Cambrian orthothecids (Hyolitha). Proc. R. Soc. B 287, 20201467 (2020).

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Erwin, D. H. et al. The Cambrian conundrum: early divergence and later ecological success in the early history of animals. Science 334, 1091–1097 (2011).

    Article 
    ADS 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Kocot, K. M. et al. Phylogenomics reveals deep molluscan relationships. Nature 477, 452–456 (2011).

    Article 
    ADS 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Vinther, J. The origins of molluscs. Palaeontology 58, 19–34 (2015).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Peterman, D. J., Landman, N. & Ciampaglio, C. Exploring the influence of cameral deposits on the stability, orientation, and maneuverability of orthocone cephalopods. Paleobiology 1, 21 (2026).


    Google Scholar
     

  • Flower, R. H. The Nautiloid Order Ellesmeroceratida (Cephalopoda) (Socorro, 1964).

  • Teichert, C. Main Features of Cephalopod Evolution (Academic Press, 1988).

  • Hildenbrand, A., Austermann, G., Fuchs, D., Bengtson, P. & Stinnesbeck, W. A potential cephalopod from the early Cambrian of eastern Newfoundland, Canada. Commun. Biol. 4, 388 (2021).

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Landing, E., Kröger, B., Westrop, S. R. & Geyer, G. Proposed Early Cambrian cephalopods are chimaeras, the oldest known cephalopods are 30 m.y. younger. Commun. Biol. 6, 32 (2023).

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Smith, M. R. & Caron, J. B. Primitive soft-bodied cephalopods from the Cambrian. Nature 465, 469–472 (2010).

    Article 
    ADS 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Vinther, J. et al. A fossilized ventral ganglion reveals a chaetognath affinity for Cambrian nectocaridids. Sci. Adv. 11, eadu6990 (2025).

    Article 
    ADS 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Flower, R. H. Cambrian Cephalopods (New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, 1954).

  • Kröger, B. The cephalopods of the Boda Limestone, Late Ordovician, of Dalarna, Sweden. Eur. J. Taxon. 41, 1–110 (2013).


    Google Scholar
     

  • Sasaki, T., Shigeno, S. & Tanabe, K. Anatomy of Living Nautilus: Reevaluation of Primitiveness and Comparison with Coleoidea (Tokai Univ. Press, 2010).

  • Greenwald, L., Ward, P. & Greenwald, O. Cameral liquid transport and buoyancy control in chambered nautilus (Nautilus macromphalus). Nature 286, 55–56 (1980).

    Article 
    ADS 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Mutvei, H., Dunca, E. & Weitschat, W. Siphuncular structure in the Recent Nautilus, compared with that in Mesozoic nautilids and ammonoids from Madagascar. GFF 132, 161–166 (2010).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Tanabe, K., Fukuda, Y. & Obata, I. Formation and function of the siphuncle-septal neck structures in two Mesozoic ammonites. Trans. Proc. Paleontol. Soc. Jpn 128, 433–443 (1982).


    Google Scholar
     

  • Devaere, L. et al. Early Cambrian small shelly fossils from northwest Mexico: biostratigraphic implications for Laurentia. Palaeontol. Electron. 22, 41A (2019).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Kouchisky, A. V. Skeletal microstructures of hyoliths from the Early Cambrian of Siberia. Alcheringa 24, 65–81 (2000).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Sun, H.-J. et al. Periodic shell decollation as an ecology-driven strategy in the early Cambrian Cupitheca. Palaeontology 63, 431–442 (2020).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Landing, E. & Kröger, B. Cephalopod ancestry and ecology of the hyolith “Allathecadegeeri s.l. in the Cambrian Evolutionary Radiation. Paleogeogr. Paleoclimatol. Paleoecol. 353, 21–30 (2012).

    Article 
    ADS 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Martí Mus, M., Palacios, T. & Jensen, S. Size of the earliest mollusks: Did small helcionellids grow to become large adults? Geology 36, 175–178 (2008).

    ADS 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Li, G.-X. et al. Early Cambrian metazoan fossil record of South China: generic diversity and radiation patterns. Paleogeogr. Paleoclimatol. Paleoecol. 254, 229–249 (2007).

    Article 
    ADS 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Budd, G. E. & Jackson, I. S. Ecological innovations in the Cambrian and the origins of the crown group phyla. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 371, 20150287 (2016).

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Skovsted, C. B. et al. The operculum and mode of life of the lower Cambrian hyolith Cupitheca from South Australia and North China. Paleogeogr. Paleoclimatol. Paleoecol. 443, 123–130 (2016).

    Article 
    ADS 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Liu, F. et al. Morphological disparity and evolutionary patterns of Cambrian hyoliths. Pap. Palaeontol. 10, e1554 (2024).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Li, L.-Y. et al. Homologous shell microstructures in Cambrian hyoliths and molluscs. Palaeontology 62, 515–532 (2019).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Qian, Y. Hyolitha and some problematica from the Lower Cambrian Meishucun stage in central and S. W. China. Acta Palaeontol. Sin. 16, 255–275 (1977).


    Google Scholar
     

  • Parkhaev, P. Y. & Demidenko, Y. E. Zooproblematica and Mollusca from the Lower Cambrian Meishucun Section (Yunnan, China) and taxonomy and systematics of the Cambrian small shelly fossils of China. Paleontol. J. 44, 883–1161 (2010).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Qian, Y., Xie, Y.-S. & He, T.-G. Hyoliths of the lower Cambrian Chiungchussuan Stage in south Shaanxi province. Acta Palaeontol. Sin. 40, 31–43 (2001).


    Google Scholar
     

  • Yang, B., Steiner, M. & Keupp, H. Early Cambrian palaeobiogeography of the Zhenba–Fangxian Block (South China): independent terrane or part of the Yangtze Platform? Gondwana Res. 28, 1543–1565 (2015).

    Article 
    ADS 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Liu, F., Skovsted, C. B., Topper, T. P. & Zhang, Z.-F. A fresh look at the Hyolithid Doliutheca from the Early Cambrian (Stage 4) Shipai Formation of the Three Gorges Area, Hubei, South China. Biology 11, 875 (2022).

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Luo, J.-Z. et al. Resurgence of cloudinomorph fossils with possible cnidarian affinity at the peak of the Cambrian Explosion (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 3) in southern Shaanxi, China. Pap. Palaeontol. 10, e1596 (2024).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Teichert, C. et al. Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part K (Geological Society of America and Univ. of Kansas Press, 1964).

  • Li, Z.-C. et al. Petrogenesis and tectonic setting of the early middle Triassic subduction-related granite in the eastern segment of East Kunlun: evidences from petrology, geochemistry, and zircon U-Pb-Hf isotopes. Int. Geol. Rev. 64, 698–721 (2022).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Zhao, L.-M. et al. Geochemical and zircon U-Pb-Hf isotopic study of volcanic rocks from the Yaolinghe Group, South Qinling orogenic belt, China: constraints on the assembly and breakup of Rodinia. Precambrian Res. 371, 106603 (2022).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Ma, S.-J. et al. Provenance analysis of the Nanhua System in the Zhenba Xiaoyangba area, southern Shaanxi: evidence from detrital zircon U-Pb ages, clastic composition analysis and geochemistry. Miner. Explor. 15, 165–189 (2024).


    Google Scholar
     

  • Dai, T., Zhang, X.-L. & Peng, S.-C. Morphology and development of the eodiscoid trilobite Tsunyidiscus yanjiazhaiensis from the Cambrian (Stage 3, Series 2) of South China. J. Syst. Palaeontol. 14, 75–89 (2016).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Zhang, X.-G. & Clarkson, E. N. K. Phosphatized eodiscoid trilobites from the Cambrian of China. Palaeontogr. Abt. A 297, 1–121 (2012).

    Article 

    Google Scholar
     

  • Song, Z.-C. et al. Eoceras supplemental data from: Earliest siphuncle-bearing cephalopod from the early Cambrian. Dryad https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qbzkh18zk (2026).

  • RELATED ARTICLES

    Most Popular

    Recent Comments