What is Banffia?
According to Wiipedia,
“Banffia (Figs 1, 2) is a genus of animals described from Middle Cambrian fossils. The genus commemorates Banff, Alberta, near where the first fossil specimens were discovered. Its placement in higher taxa is controversial. It is considered to be a member of the enigmatic phylum Vetulicolia.”
We looked at the interrelationships of Vetulicola (Fig 4) earlier here.
Figure 1. Two specimens of Banffia. The one on the right is incomplete. Note the twisted ‘tail’.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/banffia588.jpg?w=186″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/banffia588.jpg?w=584″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button” class=”size-full wp-image-87904″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/banffia588.jpg” alt=”Figure 1. Two specimens of Banffia. The one on the right is incomplete. Note the twisted ‘tail’.” width=”584″ height=”943″ />
Figure 1. Two specimens of Banffia. The one on the right is incomplete. Note the twisted ‘tail’.
I do not understand the details
in the ‘head’ or ‘anterior’ of Banffia. Details are hard to see. Others identify a carapace and plastron. The triangular tail reminds me of the same sort of tail in Branchiostoma the lancelet (Fig 2), here half-buried for filter feeding. If Banffia was a derived lancelet, it was similar in size to the largest lancelets. The twisted tail might have been elaborated from the straight tail = holdfast of mature lancelets. Purportedly the cloaca/anus was terminal, but that is not confirmed in figure 1. In Enoplus, lancelets and other related taxa the cloaca/anus opens on the left side, far anterior to the tail tip, which is a digging tool.
Figure 2. Banffia compared to Branchiostoma, both half-buried filter feeders.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/banffia.branchiostoma.insitu588.jpg?w=253″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/banffia.branchiostoma.insitu588.jpg?w=584″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button” class=”size-full wp-image-87906″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/banffia.branchiostoma.insitu588.jpg” alt=”Figure 2. Banffia compared to Branchiostoma, both half-buried filter feeders.” width=”584″ height=”693″ />
Figure 2. Banffia compared to Branchiostoma, both half-buried filter feeders.
Young lancelets are more fish-like in appearance
from their gills and eyes to their tails (Fig 3). Perhaps young Banffia was likewise mobile and different from the adult morphology.
Figure 3. Lancelet growth series. Juveniles are more mobile and fish-like. Adults half-bury themselves for filter-feeding.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/lancelet-embryos588.jpg?w=250″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/lancelet-embryos588.jpg?w=584″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button” class=”size-full wp-image-58026″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/lancelet-embryos588.jpg” alt=”Figure 3. Lancelet growth series. Juveniles are more mobile and fish-like. Adults half-bury themselves for filter-feeding.” width=”584″ height=”701″ />
Figure 3. Lancelet growth series. Juveniles are more mobile and fish-like. Adults half-bury themselves for filter-feeding.
According to Wikipedia,
“Banffia constricta is known from hundreds of fossils found in the Burgess Shales. It is up to 10 cm in length, and divided equally into anterior and posterior parts. The entire body is twisted in a clockwise spiral, as seen from the front. This is believed to be a secondary adaptation from an initial bilateral condition for a burrowing lifestyle. There is no agreement on the classification of Banffia.”
The Wiki article does not mention lancelets. Perhaps it should.
Walcott 1911
originally considered Banffia an annelid. Caron 2005 considered Banffia a vetulicolid, which is another lancelet descendant closing in on echinoderm crinioids (Fig 4).
Figure 7. Vetulicola compared to a fossil crinoid. Note the splitting of the mouth parts into separate ‘arms’ has only just begun here. The crinoid stalk is the segmented ‘tail’ of Vetulicola.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/crinoid_vetulicola588.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/crinoid_vetulicola588.jpg?w=584″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button” class=”size-full wp-image-53797″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/crinoid_vetulicola588.jpg” alt=”Figure 7. Vetulicola compared to a fossil crinoid. Note the splitting of the mouth parts into separate ‘arms’ has only just begun here. The crinoid stalk is the segmented ‘tail’ of Vetulicola.” width=”584″ height=”474″ />
Figure 4. Vetulicola compared to a fossil crinoid. Note the splitting of the mouth parts into separate ‘arms’ has only just begun here. The crinoid stalk is the segmented ‘tail’ of Vetulicola.
Chambers and Branndt 2017 described,
“A slab of Burgess Shale with a dense aggregation of B. constricta may indicate a gregarious habit for the animal, as taphonomic and stratigraphical data indicate an in situ origin for the assemblage.”
Adult, filter-feeding lancelets also do this. So do crinoids (Figs 4, 5).
Figure 3. Chordate evolution, changes to Romer 1971 from Peters 1991. Here echinoderms have lost the tail and gills of the free-swimming tunicate larva.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/chordate_originspeters-1991-588-1.jpg?w=215″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/chordate_originspeters-1991-588-1.jpg?w=584″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button” class=”size-full wp-image-47466″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/chordate_originspeters-1991-588-1.jpg” alt=”Figure 3. Chordate evolution, changes to Romer 1971 from Peters 1991. Here echinoderms have lost the tail and gills of the free-swimming tunicate larva.” width=”584″ height=”814″ />
Figure 5. Chordate evolution, changes to Romer 1971 from Peters 1991. Here echinoderms have lost the tail and gills of the free-swimming tunicate larva.
Conway Morris et al 2015 wrote,
“the diagnostic median constriction and crossover of either side of the body are unlikely to be the result of taphonomic twisting but are original features… these observations support an assignment of the banffiids to the vetulicolians.”
Perhaps in the direction of vetulicolians, but not quite there. Perhaps closer to lancelets.
According to the Burgess Shale website,
“The lack of appendages and the bulky anterior section suggest the animal was not a swimmer but lived at the bottom of the sea on the mud itself. The flexible posterior section of the animal would have helped in locomotion. The presence of mud in the gut suggests the animal ate small particles of organic matter present in the flocculent layer of the mud. However because of the large anterior carapaces, this animal was probably not an efficient burrower.”
Perhaps on par with adult lancelets, which back in, not head first.
References
Caron J-B 2005. Banffia constricta, a putative vetulicolid from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 96: 95-111.
Chambers L and Brandt D 2017. Explaining gregarious behaviour in Banffia constricta from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale, British Columbia. Lethaia https://doi.org/10.1111/let.12231
Briggs DEG and Conway Morris S 1986. Problematica from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia, p. 167-183. In A. Hoffman and M. H. Nitecki (eds.), Problematic fossil taxa (Oxford Monographs on Geology and Geophysics No. 5). Oxford University Press and Clarendon Press, New York.
Conway Morris S et al 2015. Rare primitive deuterostomes form the Cambrian (Series 3) of Utah. Journal of Palentology 89(4):631–636. doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2015.40
Walcott C 1911. Cambrian Geology and Paleontology II. Middle Cambrian annelids. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 57(5): 109-145.
Burgess Shale website
wiki/Banffia
Source: https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2024/07/30/what-is-banffia/
Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.
"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.
Lion’s Mane Mushroom Nootropic
Mushrooms are having a moment. One fabulous fungus in particular, lion’s mane, may help improve memory, depression and anxiety symptoms. They are also an excellent source of nutrients that show promise as a therapy for dementia, and other neurodegenerative diseases. If you’re living with anxiety or depression, you may be curious about all the therapy options out there — including the natural ones.Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend has been formulated to utilize the potency of Lion’s mane but also include the benefits of four other Highly Beneficial Mushrooms. Synergistically, they work together to Build your health through improving cognitive function and immunity regardless of your age. Our Nootropic not only improves your Cognitive Function and Activates your Immune System, But it benefits growth of Essential Gut Flora, further enhancing your Vitality.
Our Formula includes: Lion’s Mane Mushrooms which Increase Brain Power through nerve growth, lessen anxiety, reduce depression, and improve concentration. Its an excellent adaptogen, promotes sleep and improves immunity.
Shiitake Mushrooms which Fight cancer cells and infectious disease, boost the immune system, promotes brain function, and serves as a source of B vitamins.
Maitake Mushrooms which regulate blood sugar levels of diabetics, reduce hypertension and boosts the immune system.
Reishi Mushrooms which Fight inflammation, liver disease, fatigue, tumor growth and cancer. They Improve skin disorders and soothes digestive problems, stomach ulcers and leaky gut syndrome.
Chaga Mushrooms which have anti-aging effects, boost immune function, improve stamina and athletic performance, even act as a natural aphrodisiac, fighting diabetes and improving liver function.
Try Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend 60 Capsules Today. Be 100% Satisfied or Receive a Full Money Back Guarantee. Order Yours Today by Following This Link.
| Online: | |
| Visits: | 1,625,043,437 |
| Stories: | 8,211,544 |
Whistler Blowers, Insiders
