| Tonglaiia Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
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| Illustration of Tonglaiia bispinosa | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | † Artiopoda |
| Subphylum: | † Trilobitomorpha |
| Genus: | † Tonglaiia Zhu et al., 2023 [1] |
| Type species | |
| †Tonglaiia bispinosa Zhu et al., 2023 [1] | |
Tonglaiia is an extinct genus of trilobitomorph artiopod that lived during Stage 3 of the Cambrian period. [1] It is considered to be the sister taxon to the clade Conciliterga. [1] The type and only species is Tonglaiia bispinosa.
The holotype, NIGP 200050, was discovered in Malong District in 2023. [1] It measures at 2.7 centimetres (1.1 in) in length and 1.9 centimetres (0.75 in) in width [1] , preserving the cephalon (head) as well as parts of the thorax and abdomen. The genus is named after Tonglai County [1] , which was the former name of Malong District prior to the Tang Dynasty [2] [ unreliable source? ], and the name of the type species is a combination of the Latin prefix "bi-" (double) and adjective "spinosa" (spinous), which would make the meaning of bispinosa roughly "two spines". [1]
