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{{Short description|Extinct genus of Cambrian organisms}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = ''Banffia''
| taxon = Banffia
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|520|501}} [[Middle Cambrian]]
| image = Banffia constricta Walcott Cambrian Geology and Paleontology II plate 21 (cropped).jpg
| image_caption = Fossil of ''B. constricta'' from the Burgess Shale
| image2 = Banffia episoma KUMIP 314017.jpg
| image2_caption = Fossil of ''B. episoma'' from the Spence Shale
| authority = Walcott, 1911
| type_species = {{extinct}}'''''Banffia constricta'''''
| type_species_authority = Walcott, 1911
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
*{{extinct}}'''''Banffia constricta''''' Walcott, 1911
*{{extinct}}'''''Banffia episoma''''' Conway Morris and Selden, 2015
}}

'''''Banffia''''' is a [[genus]] of animals described from [[Middle Cambrian]] [[fossil]]s. The genus commemorates [[Banff, Alberta]], near where the first fossil specimens were discovered. Its placement in higher [[taxon|taxa]] is controversial, with it mostly being considered to be a member of the enigmatic phylum [[Vetulicolia]].

== Anatomy ==
[[File:Banffia constricta.JPG|220px|thumb|left|Life restoration of three ''B. constricta'']]
''Banffia constricta'' is known from hundreds of fossils found in the [[Burgess Shale]]s. 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 [[symmetry (biology)|bilateral]] condition for a burrowing lifestyle. The anterior section is covered by two [[carapace]]-like un-mineralized shells that are fused together. A crown-like structure formed of three concentric circular features surrounds the mouth. An [[Antenna (biology)|antenna]]-form structure just posterior to the mouth may be a sensory organ. The posterior section is composed of 40 to 50 segments. The [[Gastrointestinal tract|gut]] is straight, and the [[anus]] is at the terminal tip of the posterior section. The gut appears to have a series of [[diverticula]] or pouches.<ref name=caron1>{{Cite journal | last1 = Caron | first1 = J. B. | title = Banffia constricta, a putative vetulicolid from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale | journal = Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences | volume = 96 | issue = 2 | year = 2007 | doi = 10.1017/S0263593300001255 | pages=95–111| s2cid = 128851764 }}</ref> A possible circulatory system is visible in the fossils.<ref name=caron2>{{cite web|last1=Caron|first1=Jean-Bernard|title=The Limbless Animal ''Banffia constricta'' from the Burgess Shale (Middle Cambrian, Canada): A Stem-Group Arthropod?|url=http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/napc/abs5.html|access-date=6 November 2014}}</ref> ''B. constricta'' and its relative ''[[Skeemella]]'' were probably [[filter feeder|filter]] or [[deposit feeder|deposit]] feeders.

== Classification ==
There is no agreement on the classification of ''Banffia''. ''B. constricta'' was assigned to the [[annelid]]s by [[Charles Doolittle Walcott|Walcott]] in 1911.<ref>{{cite web|title=WoRMS source details|url=http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=sourcedetails&id=52091|publisher=World Registry of Marine Species|access-date=6 November 2014}}</ref> As of 2006, different proposals would place ''Banffia'' in [[Vetulicolia]],<ref name=caron1/><ref>{{cite web|title=Vetulicolia|url=http://palaeos.com/metazoa/deuterostomia/vetulicolia.html|publisher=Paleos.com|access-date=6 November 2014}}</ref> [[Arthropod]]a,<ref name=caron2/> or [[Tunicate|Urochordata]]. While the body plan (equal anterior and posterior sections with segmentation) resembles that of the Vetulicolians, it is argued that the absence of [[gill]]s and an [[endostyle]], and the presence of gut diverticula makes ''Banffia'' unlikely to be a member of the [[deuterostome]]s. However, an apparent complete lack of appendages (aside from the antenna-like structures) makes ''B. constricta'''s placement within Arthropoda equally unlikely. More recent finds of similarly shaped animals show structures thought to be a [[notochord]], making ''Banffia'' and their relatives [[chordate]]s, possibly the sister group to [[tunicate]]s.<ref name="Paterson2014">{{cite journal |url= |title=A new vetulicolian from Australia and its bearing on the chordate affinities of an enigmatic Cambrian group |first1=Diego C |last1=García-Bellido |first2=John R |last2= Paterson |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume= 14|issue=214 |year=2014 |page=214 |doi=10.1186/s12862-014-0214-z |pmid=25273382 |pmc=4203957 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

The species ''Banffia confusa'', known from fossils from the Chengjiang shales, was originally assigned to this genus,<ref>{{cite web|title=Banffia, An Enigmatic Fossil From The Chengjiang Biota|url=http://www.fossilmall.com/Science/Sites/Chengjiang/Banffia-confusa/Banffia.htm|access-date=6 November 2014}}</ref> though, recent research shows that this species is not closely related to ''B. constricta'', having been renamed as its junior synonym, ''[[Heteromorphus]] longicaudatus'', and placed in a different class altogether, "Heteromorphida."<ref name="Shu">{{cite journal | last1 = Shu | first1 = Degan | year = 2005 | title = On the phylum Vetulicolia | journal = Chinese Science Bulletin | volume = 50 | issue = 20| pages = 2342–2354 | doi=10.1007/bf03183746| bibcode = 2005ChSBu..50.2342S | s2cid = 86827605 }}</ref> Later, Aldridge, et al. resurrected ''B. confusa'' as ''Heteromorphus confusus'', noting a variety of anatomical differences among the various specimens of ''Heteromorphus'', suggesting that there may be more species recognized with more fossils discovered.<ref name="Aldridge">{{cite journal | last1 = Aldridge | first1 = Richard J. | display-authors = etal | year = 2007 | title = The systematics and phylogenetic relationships of vetulicolians | journal = Palaeontology | volume = 50 | issue = 1| pages = 131–168 | doi=10.1111/j.1475-4983.2006.00606.x| s2cid = 85722738 }}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Paleontology}}
*{{Cite web|date=2011|title=''Banffia constricta''|work=Burgess Shale Fossil Gallery|publisher=Virtual Museum of Canada|url=http://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/en/fossil-gallery/view-species.php?id=25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112025257/http://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/en/fossil-gallery/view-species.php?id=25|archive-date=2020-11-12|url-status=dead|access-date=2023-01-21}}

{{Vetulicolia}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q923755}}

[[Category:Vetulicolia]]
[[Category:Cambrian animals of North America]]
[[Category:Prehistoric animal genera]]
[[Category:Paleozoic life of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Burgess Shale animals]]
[[Category:Cambrian genus extinctions]]

Banffia - Revision history

imported>A Cynical Idealist: Removed stub tag