Yuknessia is an early pterobranch, known from the Burgess shale,[1] the Chengjiang and the Wheeler shale.[2] Long, unbranched fronds emerge from a central holdfast-like body covered in small conical plates.[1] 23 specimens of Yuknessia are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise < 0.1% of the community.[3] The genus contains two species: the type species Y. simplex and Y. stephenensis.[2] It was originally interpreted as a green alga, and has since been reinterpreted it as a colonial pterobranch.[2][4][5]

Yuknessia
Temporal range: Chengjiang-Burgess Shale
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Genus:
Yuknessia

Walcott, 1919
Species
  • Y. simplex Walcott, 1919 (type)
  • Y. stephenensis LoDuca et al., 2015

References

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  1. ^ a b Briggs, D. E. G.; Erwin, D. H.; Collier, F. J. (1995), Fossils of the Burgess Shale, Washington: Smithsonian Inst Press, ISBN 1-56098-659-X, OCLC 231793738
  2. ^ a b c Steven T. LoDuca; Jean-Bernard Caron; James D. Schiffbauer; Shuhai Xiao & Anthony Kramer (2015). "A reexamination of Yuknessia from the Cambrian of British Columbia and Utah". Journal of Paleontology. 89 (1): 82–95. Bibcode:2015JPal...89...82L. doi:10.1017/jpa.2014.7. S2CID 129248278.
  3. ^ Caron, Jean-Bernard; Jackson, Donald A. (October 2006). "Taphonomy of the Greater Phyllopod Bed community, Burgess Shale". PALAIOS. 21 (5): 451–65. Bibcode:2006Palai..21..451C. doi:10.2110/palo.2003.P05-070R. JSTOR 20173022. S2CID 53646959.
  4. ^ Michael Steiner & Jörg Maletz (2012). "Cambrian graptolites (Pterobranchia) and the origin of colonial organization in metazoans" (PDF). TERRA NOSTRA – Schriften der GeoUnion Alfred-Wegener-Stiftung. Centenary Meeting of the Paläontologische Gesellschaft. Programme, Abstracts, and Field Guides. 2012/3: 173–174.
  5. ^ Maletz, Jörg; Steiner, Michael (2015). "Graptolite (Hemichordata, Pterobranchia) preservation and identification in the Cambrian Series 3". Palaeontology. 58 (6): 1073–1107. Bibcode:2015Palgy..58.1073M. doi:10.1111/pala.12200. S2CID 129341868.
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  • "Yuknessia simplex". Burgess Shale Fossil Gallery. Virtual Museum of Canada. 2011. (Burgess Shale species 136)