Periodic shell decollation as an ecology‐driven strategy in the early CambrianCupitheca

Shell decollation is a growth strategy that has been adopted by a number of invertebrate taxa to offset the metabolic and ecological disadvantages of shell growth. However, little is known about the origin and evolution of this process. We here describe well-preserved specimens of the hyolith Cupitheca decollata sp. nov. preserving the decollation process, from the early Cambrian Yu'anshan Formation (c. 518 Ma) of South China. Based on a large...