Daihuoides
Daihuoides is an extinct monotypic genus of stem-group ctenophores that lived in what is now Quebec, Canada during the Late Devonian period, around 375 million years ago. It contains a single species, D. jakobvintheri.
Etymology
The genus name, Daihuoides, is named after Daihua, another stem-group ctenophore, and prefixed with -oides to refer to the morphological similarities between the two.The type and only species, D. jakobvintheri, is named after Jakob Vinther, honoring him for his contributions to the study of soft-bodied organisms from the Early Palaeozoic.
Description
Depending on the morphological and taxonomic interpretation, the holotype MHNM 24-01 is exposed from the oral or the aboral side. It is disc-shaped with a roughly circular outline; the calyx has a diameter of. It carries a circular bulge that is wide, surrounding a central depression of approximately diameter. This depression is largely stained by iron oxides, which cover an irregular surface of about in diameter. This surface has some roughly radially arranged projections giving it a star-shaped outline. Micro-CT scan analysis did not reveal any internal anatomical detail.The bulge surrounding this depression carries 18 club-shaped fields that are arranged radially. Although these fields are quite strongly eroded in some places, all show remains of deeply incised, haematite-stained zigzag-lines. The amplitude of the single bends reaches in the broadest part of the field and becomes strongly reduced towards the centre of the oral surface. In the broader part of the club-shaped fields, about ten such bends can be seen. The single fields alternate and the zigzags are pointed in both directions. The narrow furrow first reduces the intensity of its curvature and then fades out inward. The club-shaped field is slightly longer than the furrow.