Kingdom Animalia Phylum incertae sedis | Species †X. sinica Rank Genus | |
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Similar Sinoascus, Urokodia, Pectocaris, Occacaris, Acanthomeridion | ||
Xianguangia is a soft-bodied actinia-like fossil animal from the Chengjiang Biota of China.
Description
Xianguangia sinica has a cylindrical body with a whorl of nearly 16 tentacles around the oral disc, similar to the modern anthozoans. The tentacles are feather-like with dense pinnules on both sides of the axis which would have been well adapted to filter feeding. A bowl-shaped attachment disc at the basal part might commonly have been buried in the sediment to allow its sedentary strategy on the seafloor in life. The body above the pedal disc is broad and cylindrical and may correspond to the internal gastrovascular cavity. It displays several distinct longitudinal grooves and ridges on the surface, indicating possible mesenteries. However, its phylogenetic affinity is still in question; it has even been alleged to be related to members of the Ediacara biota.