First known complete specimen of Neodrepanura (Trilobita: Damesellidae) from the Cambrian Kushan Formation, Shandong, China

Abstract

An entire exoskeleton of Neodrepanura recovered from the Cambrian Kushan Formation in Laiwu, Shandong, China, represents the first complete specimen recorded for the genus since its establishment over 110 years ago. As an important genus of the Family Damesellidae, the new discovery aids our understanding of the dorsal morphology of the genus, clarifies morphological diversity within the family and permits revision of the erroneous reconstruction made by Kobayashi in 1942.

Key words:

• Trilobite
• Neodrepanura
• Drepanura
• exoskeleton
• reconstruction
• Kushan Formation
• China

Acknowledgements

We express our gratitude to Shanchi Peng (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for giving us many constructive suggestions. We are grateful to Qiang Ou (Early Life Evolution Laboratory, China University of Geosciences) for providing helpful comments. We also thank the teachers, colleagues and friends who helped us in the writing process.