Ainiktozoon loganenseScourfield, a protochordate? from the Silurian of Scotland

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Abstract
An enigmatical animal, Ainiktozoon loganense from the Silurian of Scotland, is reviewed on the basis of additional material from the type locality. A new restoration of Ainiktozoon incorporates morphological features (the ‘tube’, ‘fringe’ and ‘reticulate area’) not observed, or poorly preserved, in the original material. The structure and function of the central capsule and associated tail complex are analyzed. The ‘shagreen patch’ and ‘auriculate organ’ are reinterpreted as parts of a single, median compound eye. Despite the apparent presence of a compound eye Ainiktozoon cannot be placed in any known arthropod group, extinct or extant. Ainiktozoon is provisionally interpreted as a nektonic, filter-feeding protochordate with a mineralized (phosphatic) skeleton.