Maculicorpus
| Maculicorpus Temporal range:
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Placozoa |
| Genus: | †Maculicorpus Knaust, 2021 |
| Species: | †M. microbialis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Maculicorpus microbialis Knaust, 2021
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Maculicorpus is a genus of fossil placozoan from the Middle Triassic of Germany, and the first placozoan known from the fossil record. It comprises a single known species, Maculicorpus microbialis.[1]
Discovery
[edit]Maculicorpus is known from a microbialite bed discovered in the Troistedt Quarry near Weimar, as part of the Meißner Formation. The microbialite has been dated to the late Anisian to early Ladinian.[1]
Description
[edit]The specimens referred to Maculicorpus appear as flat patches, brown to ochre in color, varying between 1 millimetre (0.039 in) and 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter. The outline is irregular and varies in overall shape from circular to elongate, fan-shaped or multi-lobed. The holotype, 4.5 mm (0.18 in) in length, is constricted in the middle, appearing as an aggregate of a larger, irregularly rounded portion and a smaller elliptical one.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Knaust, Dirk (2021-10-07). "A microbialite with its entombed benthic community from the Middle Triassic (Anisian-Ladinian) Muschelkalk Group of Germany". Palaeontographica Abteilung A. 320 (1–3): 1–63. doi:10.1127/pala/2021/0114. ISSN 0375-0442.
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