A new species of the artiopodan arthropod <i>Acanthomeridion</i> from the lower Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstätte, China, and the phylogenetic significance of the genus

<p>New material of the rare arthropod <i>Acanthomeridion</i>, including <i>Acanthomeridion anacanthus</i> sp. nov., is described from the lower Cambrian Chengjiang biota, Yunnan Province, China. The material includes a specimen with paired gut diverticulae along the length of the mid-gut that resemble structures in other artiopodan arthropods such as naraoiids. Previous phylogenetic analyses have indicated a petalopleuran/xandarellid affinity for <i>Acanthomeridion</i>, but our analysis resolves <i>Acanthomeridion</i> outside the main subclades of the Artiopoda (Aglaspidida + Trilobita, Nektaspida, Cheloniellida + Xenopoda, Conciliterga, Petalopleura (including Xandarellida)) as the most basal artiopodan.</p> <p><a href="http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3563C327-EF9C-4A49-B200-417CE5D95D60" target="_blank">http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3563C327-EF9C-4A49-B200-417CE5D95D60</a></p>