Maculicorpus

Maculicorpus Temporal range: Middle Triassic PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Placozoa
Genus:	† Maculicorpus Knaust, 2021
Species:	†M. microbialis
Binomial name
†Maculicorpus microbialis Knaust, 2021

Maculicorpus is a genus of fossil placozoan from the Middle Triassic of Germany, and the first placozoan known from the fossil record. It comprises a single known species, Maculicorpus microbialis. ^[1]

Discovery

Maculicorpus is known from a microbialite bed discovered in the Troistedt Quarry near Weimar, as part of the Meißner Formation. The microbialite has been dated to the late Anisian to early Ladinian. ^[2]

Description

The specimens referred to Maculicorpus appear as flat patches, brown to ochre in color, varying between 1 mm (0.04 in) and 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter. The outline is irregular and varies in overall shape from circular to elongate, fan-shaped or multi-lobed. The holotype, 4.5 mm (0.18 in) in length, is constricted in the middle, appearing as an aggregate of a larger, irregularly rounded portion and a smaller elliptical one. ^[1] Maculicorpus is larger than any modern-day placozoan. ^[3]

References

1. Knaust 2021, p. 5–6.
2. Knaust 2021, p. 5.
3. Tessler et al. 2022, p. 7.

Works cited

• Knaust, Dirk (2021-10-07). "A microbialite with its entombed benthic community from the Middle Triassic (Anisian-Ladinian) Muschelkalk Group of Germany" . Palaeontographica Abteilung A. 320 (1–3): 1–63. Bibcode:2021PalAA.320....1K. doi:10.1127/pala/2021/0114. ISSN   0375-0442.
• Tessler, Michael; Neumann, Johannes S.; Kamm, Kai; Osigus, Hans-Jürgen; Eshel, Gil; Narechania, Apurva; Burns, John A.; DeSalle, Rob; Schierwater, Bernd (2022-12-08). "Phylogenomics and the first higher taxonomy of Placozoa, an ancient and enigmatic animal phylum". Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 10. Bibcode:2022FrEEv..1016357T. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2022.1016357 . OSTI   1902587.