Grandilingulata

Grandilingulata Temporal range: Calymmian, 1590 Ma Pha. Proterozoic Archean Had. ↓
Grandilingulata qianxiensis
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	incertae sedis
Genus:	† Grandilingulata Chen et al, 2023
Species:	†G. qianxiensis
Binomial name
†Grandilingulata qianxiensis Chen et al, 2023

Grandilingulata is a Calymmian organism, found in the Gaoyuzhuang Formation of China. It has been tentatively placed inside Eukaryota due to its complexity and size, alongside other fossils from the formation. ^[1]

Description

Grandilingulata is a tongue-shaped fossil with gently curved sides, growing up to 30 cm in length and 8 cm in width. ^[2] As it dates from the earliest Mesoproterozoic, its exact classification is unknown beyond a probable eukaryotic affinity. It is known from twelve specimens, two from the uppermost section and ten from the middle section of the Gaoyuzhuang Formation.

Etymology

The genus name Grandilingulata means "large tongue", referring both to its tongue-like shape and its large size for organisms of the time period. The specific name qianxiensis refers to the location of a newly discovered fossiliferous location in Qianxi County, Hebei. ^[1]

References

1. Chen, Kai; Miao, Lanyun; Zhao, Fangchen; Zhu, Maoyan (15 July 2023). "Carbonaceous macrofossils from the early Mesoproterozoic Gaoyuzhuang Formation in the Yanshan Range, North China". Precambrian Research. 392. Bibcode:2023PreR..39207074C. doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2023.107074.
2. Zhu, Shixing; Zhu, Maoyan; Knoll, Andrew H. (17 May 2016). "Decimetre-scale multicellular eukaryotes from the 1.56-billion-year-old Gaoyuzhuang Formation in North China". Nature Communications. 7: 11500. Bibcode:2016NatCo...711500Z. doi:10.1038/ncomms11500. PMC   4873660 . PMID   27186667.