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Paired gill slits in a fossil with a calcite skeleton

Nature volume 417, pages 841–844 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

The chordates, hemichordates (such as acorn worms) and echinoderms (such as starfish) comprise the group Deuterostomia, well established as monophyletic1,2. Among extant deuterostomes, a skeleton in which each plate has the crystallographic structure of a single crystal of calcite is characteristic of echinoderms and is always associated with radial symmetry and never with gill slits. Among fossils, however, such a skeleton sometimes occurs without radial symmetry. This is true of Jaekelocarpus oklahomensis, from the Upper Carboniferous of Oklahoma, USA, which, being externally almost bilaterally symmetrical, is traditionally placed in the group Mitrata (Ordovician to Carboniferous periods, 530–280 million years ago), by contrast with the bizarrely asymmetrical Cornuta (Cambrian to Ordovician periods, 540 to 440 million years ago). Using computer X-ray microtomography, we describe the anatomy of Jaekelocarpus in greater detail than formerly possible, reveal evidence of paired gill slits internally and interpret its functional anatomy. On this basis we suggest its phylogenetic position within the deuterostomes.

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Figure 1: Reconstruction of Jaekelocarpus oklahomensis Kolata, Frest & Mapes 1991 (ref. 15) (Gene Autry Shale Formation, Upper Carboniferous, near Ardmore, Oklahoma, USA).
Figure 2: Microtomographic reconstructions of J. oklahomensis Burke Museum, University of Washington, UWBM74305.
Figure 3: Microtomographic sections of J. oklahomensis Burke Museum, University of Washington, UWBM74305.
Figure 4: Suggested flow of water through the head of Jaekelocarpus.
Figure 5: Length versus height (in µm), regression line (black) and mean (red circle) of ascidian stigmata (blue diamonds) in relation to the slits of Jaekelocarpus (vertical red line), assuming that the calcitic slits of the latter (mean height 75?µm) were lined with an epithelium between 7.5 and 20?µm thick, giving an estimated height between 35 and 60?µm.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to E. Nesbitt and R. Eng for making the specimens of Jaekelocarpus available and to T. Rowe and his co-workers for their collaboration. P.D. was supported on a post-doctoral fellowship in London by the Spanish Government (Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deportes).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7 5BD, London, UK

    Patrício Dominguez & Richard P. S. Jefferies

  2. Patterson Labs, MCDB, The University of Texas, Austin, Texas, 78712, USA

    Antone G. Jacobson

  3. Departamento de Paleontologia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaría, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Patrício Dominguez

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  1. Patrício Dominguez
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  2. Antone G. Jacobson
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  3. Richard P. S. Jefferies
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Correspondence to Richard P. S. Jefferies.

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Supplementary information

The original TIFF files showing the serial X-ray sections of Jackelocarpus are also stored in the Digital Morphology site of the University of Texas and can be accessed on http://www.digimorph.org

(The Publisher recommends using the VLC Media Player for watching the movies.)

Movie 1: 360º reconstruction of Jaekelocarpus oklahomensis (mov 2 MB)

Movie 2: 360º reconstruction of Jaekelocarpus oklahomensis (mov 2 MB)

Movie 3: anaglyphic version of movie2 (blue-red glasses required) (mov 2.4 MB)

Movie 4: branchial skeleton (mov 1 MB)

Movie 5: branchial skeleton (mov 1 MB)

Movie 6: series of sections in the plane xz (mov 10.6 MB)

Movie 7: series of sections in the plane xz (low quality) (mov 4.87 MB)

Movie 8: series of sections in the plane xy (mov 7.23 MB)

Movie 9: series of sections in the plane xy (low quality) (mov 1.18 MB)

Screenshots of the movies

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Dominguez, P., Jacobson, A. & Jefferies, R. Paired gill slits in a fossil with a calcite skeleton. Nature 417, 841–844 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature00805

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