| Vicissicaudata Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sidneyia minor , a vicissicaudatan unplaced in any subgroup | |
 | |
| Cheloniellon , a cheloniellid | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| (unranked): | † Artiopoda |
| (unranked): | † Vicissicaudata Ortega-Hernández, Legg & Braddy, 2013 |
| Subgroupings | |
| |
Vicissicaudata is an unranked group of artiopods, containing Cheloniellida, Aglaspidida and several other genera outside these groups like Sidneyia and Emeraldella.
Vicissicaudatans are similar to most other artiopods in shape, with rounded bodies consisting of many wide tergites, sometimes with a distinguishable axis along the midline. This clade is defined by a differentiated posterior region, [2] often ending in a telson and caudal appendages. The morphology of this posterior region varies between clades. Aglaspidids, alongside Eozetetes [3] and Carimersa , [4] have long styliform telsons and relatively small, flap-like caudal appendages while cheloniellids and Tardisia have much longer caudal appendages similar to the caudal furcae of various taxa, alongside much smaller telsons more resembling the postabdominal segments. The paraphyletic "xenopods" are more similar to those of aglaspidids, also with long telsons and flap-like caudal appendages, however in Sidneyia [5] the caudal appendages have become large with broad, lobed tips. In terms of bodily morphology, aglaspidids and Carimersa closely resemble trilobites, with cheloniellids having an unusual radial arrangement of their tergopleurae. The various basal taxa are mostly less derived in body shape with rounded tergite edges and large head shields, although the first appendage pair of Kodymirus vaguely resembles the frontal appendages of radiodonts. [6] Most have eyes, although some later aglaspidids and cheloniellids, alongside Tardisia and Etainia , [7] seem to lack them. However, the placement of eyes varies throughout Vicissicaudata, with some having eyes on the underside of their carapace (such as Emeraldella ), [8] so the apparent lack of eyes may simply be due to them not being visible on fossils. Unlike trilobites, most vicissicaudatans are not biomineralised, therefore they are much rarer and mainly appear in lagerstätten.
Vicissicaudatans seem to have a wide distribution both in time and space, with fossils being recorded from the Cambrian to the Carboniferous. Fossils have been found in locations including but not limited to the Burgess Shale, [8] Wheeler Shale, [9] Chengjiang biota, [5] Paseky Shale, [6] Emu Bay Shale, [3] Fezouata Formation, [10] Llanfallteg Formation, [7] Coalbrookdale Formation, [4] Hunsrück Slate [11] and Mazon Creek. [1]
A close relationship between Sidneyia , Emeraldella , aglaspididans and cheloniellids had long been hypothesised, but the grouping lacked a formal name until 2013. Vicissicaudata is often considered to be closely related to the clade containing trilobites and their close relatives (Trilobitomorpha) as part of Artiopoda, [12] though some studies hypothesise that Artiopoda is paraphyletic, with some studies hypothesising that Vicissicaudata is more closely related to other arthropod groups like chelicerates than to trilobitomorphs. [13]
Vicissicaudata translates to "changed tail", in reference to the differentiation of the posterior body region in the group. [2]
Sidneyia is an extinct marine arthropod known from fossils found from the Early to the Mid Cambrian of China and the Mid Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia, Canada.
Dinocaridida is a proposed fossil taxon of basal arthropods, which flourished during the Cambrian period and survived up to Early Devonian. Characterized by a pair of frontal appendages and series of body flaps, the name of Dinocaridids refers to the suggested role of some of these members as the largest marine predators of their time. Dinocaridids are occasionally referred to as the 'AOPK group' by some literatures, as the group composed of Radiodonta, Opabiniidae, and the "gilled lobopodians" Pambdelurion and Kerygmachelidae. It is most likely paraphyletic, with Kerygmachelidae and Pambdelurion more basal than the clade compose of Opabiniidae, Radiodonta and other arthropods.
Anomalocaris is an extinct genus of radiodont, an order of early-diverging stem-group marine arthropods.
Cheloniellida is a taxon of extinct Paleozoic arthropods. As of 2018, 7 monotypic genera of cheloniellids had been formally described, whose fossils are found in marine strata ranging from Ordovician to Devonian in age. Cheloniellida has a controversial phylogenetic position, with previous studies associated it as either a member or relative of various fossil and extant arthropod taxa. It was later accepted as a member of Vicissicaudata within Artiopoda.
Aglaspidida is an extinct order of aquatic arthropods that were once regarded as primitive chelicerates. However, anatomical comparisons demonstrate that the aglaspidids cannot be accommodated within the chelicerates, and that they lie instead within the Artiopoda, thus placing them closer to the trilobites. Aglaspidida contains the subgroups Aglaspididae and Tremaglaspididae, which are distinguished by the presence of acute/spinose genal angles and a long spiniform tailspine in the Aglaspididae.
Urokodia is an extinct genus of arthropod from the early Cambrian. The only known species is Urokodia aequalis from the Maotianshan Shales of China based on some 15 specimens.
Schinderhannes bartelsi is a species of hurdiid radiodont (anomalocaridid), known from one specimen from the Lower Devonian Hunsrück Slates. Its discovery was astonishing because the latest definitive radiodonts were known only from the Early Ordovician, at least 66 million years earlier than this taxon.
Radiodonta is an extinct order of stem-group arthropods that was successful worldwide during the Cambrian period. Radiodonts are distinguished by their distinctive frontal appendages, which are morphologically diverse and were used for a variety of functions. Radiodonts were among the earliest large predators, but they also included sediment sifters and filter feeders. Some of the most famous species of radiodonts are the Cambrian taxa Anomalocaris canadensis, Hurdia victoria, Peytoia nathorsti, Titanokorys gainesi, Cambroraster falcatus and Amplectobelua symbrachiata. The later surviving members include the subfamily Aegirocassisinae from the Early Ordovician of Morocco and the Early Devonian member Schinderhannes bartelsi from Germany.
Kodymirus is a genus of Early Cambrian arthropod, known from the Czech Republic, which bears some resemblance to eurypterids and aglaspidids. Although it possessed great appendage-like raptorial arms, it was not homologous with those of megacheirans, and was instead a member of Vicissicaudata, closely related to aglaspidids. It is part of a small and low-diversity Paseky Shale fauna group, which dwelt in brackish waters.
Emeraldella is a genus of arthropod known from the Middle Cambrian of North America. The type species E. brocki was described in 1912 from the Burgess Shale. 21 specimens of Emeraldella are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise < 0.1% of the community. A re-study on the species was done in 2012. A second species E. brutoni is known from the Wheeler Shale, which was described in 2011. An additional specimen of E. brutoni was described in 2019, which revealed more of the anatomy. It has been placed as a basal member of the clade Vicissicaudata within Artiopoda, a group of arthropods containing trilobites and their relatives.
Mollisonia is an extinct genus of Cambrian arthropod. 4 species had been described from North America and China. Studies suggest it is a basal member of Chelicerata, a group which includes horseshoe crabs and arachnids.
The Fezouata Formation or Fezouata Shale is a geological formation in Morocco which dates to the Early Ordovician. It was deposited in a marine environment, and is known for its exceptionally preserved fossils, filling an important preservational window beyond the earlier and more common Cambrian Burgess shale-type deposits. The fauna of this geological unit is often described as the Fezouata biota, and the particular strata within the formation which exhibit exceptional preservation are generally termed the Fezouata Lagerstätte.
The Artiopoda is a grouping of extinct arthropods that includes trilobites and their close relatives. It was erected by Hou and Bergström in 1997 to encompass a wide diversity of arthropods that would traditionally have been assigned to the Trilobitomorpha. Trilobites, in part due to abundance of findings owing to their mineralized exoskeletons, are by far the best recorded, diverse, and long lived members of the clade. Other members, which lack mineralised exoskeletons, are known mostly from Cambrian deposits.
Parioscorpio is an extinct genus of arthropod containing the species P. venator known from the Silurian-aged Waukesha Biota of the Brandon Bridge Formation near Waukesha, Wisconsin. This animal has gone through a confusing taxonomic history, being called an arachnid, crustacean, and an artiopodan arthropod at various points. This animal is one of the more famous fossil finds from Wisconsin, due to the media coverage it received based on its original description in 2020 as a basal scorpion.
Hymenocarina is an order of extinct arthropods known from the Cambrian. They possess bivalved carapaces, typically with exposed posteriors. Members of the group are morphologically diverse and had a variety of ecologies, including as filter feeders and as predators. Recent research has generally considered them to be stem or crown group members of Mandibulata, due to the presence of mandibles in some species.
Cheloniellon is a monotypic genus of cheloniellid arthropod, known only by one species, Cheloniellon calmani, discovered from the Lower Devonian Hunsrück Slate of Germany.
Carimersa is an extinct genus of artiopodan arthropod known from the Silurian Coalbrookdale Formation of Herefordshire, England.
Tardisia is an extinct genus of vicissicaudatan arthropod known from the upper Carboniferous Mazon Creek fossil beds in northern Illinois. It is the youngest known member of the Artiopoda outside of the trilobites, at almost 100 million years younger than the next youngest in the Hunsrück Slate and Severnaya Zemlya Formation.
Etainia is an extinct genus of vicissicaudatan artiopod known from the Ordovician Llanfallteg Formation of Wales. Its type species is Etainia howellsorum. It shares its name with the moth genus Etainia, therefore under Article 23 of the ICZN's code it is a homonym and technically invalid.