Taxonomy

Phylum: Cnidaria

Class: Anthozoa

Order: Uncertain

Family: Uncertain

Genus: Uncertain

Specie: Uncertain

Description: 

The body of Qingjiang polyp is mainly composed of tentacles, mouth, trunk and a hold fast. The polyps are characterized by a terminal holdfast and resemble living counterparts in that they possess robust tentacles, oral and anal openings, and an oral disc. The tentacles lack cilia, which are observed in the Chengjiang fossils, indicating a different feeding strategy. The central part of the body of the Qingjiang polyp is a cylindrical trunk, about 4.4 mm high and 2.5 mm in diameter, with longitudinal grooves on the surface of the trunk, which are evenly distributed on the surface. The lower part of the body is a pie-shaped holdfast, which is used to fix its body on the seafloor, with a diameter of 4.25 mm max width, and a base that is thick at the bottom and thin at the top and attached to the body. The upper part of the body is a oral disc with a circular mouth in the center and 16 spines on the inner side of the mouth, which may play a role in fixing food during the feeding process. The overall diameter of the oral disc is about 3.5mm, and the part other than the mouth is basically smooth. The outermost part of the oral disc is radially and symmetrically distributed with 18 thick and powerful tentacles, which are about 5mm long, basically the same length as the body, the tentacles have a diameter of about 0.7mm, thicker on the side near the oral disc, and thinner at the distal end.

Age & Localities

Age: Cambrian Series2 Stage3 Shuijingtuo Formation

Principal localities: Qingjiang biota (Member II of Shuijingtuo Formation), Hubei Province, China