Banffia

Taxobox | name = "Banffia"
fossil_range = Cambrian

---

image_caption = "Banffia confusa" & friends
regnum = Animalia
superphylum = ?Deuterostomia
phylum = ?Vetulicolia
phylum_authority = Shu, et al. 2001
familia = ?Vetulicolidae
genus = "Banffia"
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision =
*"B. confusa"
*"B. constricta"

"Banffia" is a genus of animals described from Early Cambrian fossils. The genus was named after Banff, Alberta, near where the first fossil specimens were discovered. Its placement in higher taxa is controversial. The species of "Banffia" were soft-bodied, and thus fossils are known primarily from the Burgess shales of Canada and the Chengjiang shales of China.

"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. The anterior section is covered by two carapace-like un-mineralized shells that are fused together. A crown-like structure formed of three concentrate circular features surrounds the mouth. An antenna-form structure just posterior to the mouth may be a sensory organ. The posterior section is composed of 40 to 50 segments. The 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. A possible circulatory system is visible in the fossils. "B. constricta" and "B. constricta" were probably filter or deposit feeders.

"Banffia confusa" is known from fossils from the Chengjiang shales. The animal also is divided, with segmentation visible in the posterior section. It is interpreted as either a swimming filter feeder or a detrivore.

Classification

There is no agreement on the classification of "Banffia". "Banffia constricta" was assigned to the annelids by Walcott in 1911. As of 2006, different proposals would place "Banffia" in Urochordata, Vetulicolia or Arthropoda. While the body plan (equal anterior and posterior sections with segmentation) resembles that of the Vetulicolians, it is argued that the absence of gills and an endostyle, and the presence of gut diverticula makes "Banffia" unlikely to be a member of the deuterostomes.

References

* [http://www.fossilmall.com/Science/Sites/Chengjiang/Banffia-confusa/Banffia.htm Banffia, An Enigmatic Fossil From The Chengjiang Biota] - URL retrieved June 21 2006
* [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/rse/tes/2005/00000096/00000002/art00001;jsessionid=15xn2ki5e5dph.alice Banffia constricta, a putative vetulicolid from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale] - URL retrieved June 21 2006
* [http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/napc/abs5.html NAPC 2001 The Limbless Animal Banffia constricta from the Burgess Shale (Middle Cambrian, Canada): A Stem-group Arthropod?] - URL retrieved June 21 2006
* [http://www.palaeos.com/Invertebrates/Deuterostomia/Vetulicolia.html Vetulicolia] - URL retrieved June 21 2006