<i>Pisinnocaris subconigera</i> —a valid species of early Cambrian fuxianhuiid
<i>Pisinnocaris subconigera</i> was first described as a rare, small euarthropod from the early Cambrian Chengjiang biota, southwestern China. The taxonomic validity of this species was later challenged due to the lack of essential morphological details to differentiate it from <i>Fuxianhuia protensa</i>, especially from the juvenile perspective. Here, we examined the holotype and additional specimens of <i>P. subconigera</i> with multiple imaging techniques, such as microscope optical imaging, micro-CT scanning and computer-based 3D rendering, and revealed the previously unknown ventral organization of <i>P. subconigera</i>. New findings include four short prothoracic segments each bearing a pair of biramous appendages, four opisthothoracic segments each with four pairs of appendages, and four limbless abdominal segments. Both the small and large individuals exhibit unique and consistent morphological characteristics, indicating that <i>P. subconigera</i> does not represent the larval or juvenile form of any fuxianhuiid as previously proposed. Combined with phylogenetic analyses, our study suggests that <i>P. subconigera</i> remians as a valid member of the early Cambrian fuxianhuiids.
Authors
- Ailin Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8602-9933)
- Hong Chen
- Huijuan Mai
- Yu Liu
- Jin Guo
Institutions
- University of Leicester (GB)
- Guizhou University (CN)
- Yunnan University (CN)
- Southwest Forestry University (CN)
- Museum of Heilongjiang Province (CN)
- Liupanshui Normal University (CN)
- Yuxi Normal University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- PeerJ
- Published
- 2026-02-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20483
- Primary Topic
- Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00