MUSEUM QUALITY Yunnanozoon Chordate Precursor

Description: The highlight of this fine fossil Yunnanozoon lividum, that has been designated as the earliest known hemichordate. Possessing many of the characteristic chordate features and providing an anatomical link between invertebrates and chordates, the Hemichordata is a minor but important phylum in evolutionary biology. It at one point Yunnanozoon was thought to be a member of the Phylum Chordata, but has been reassigned as mentioned above. This one comes from the Chengjiang deposits near Anning, Yunnan Province, China. As the earliest of the hemichordates, its study casts light upon the early evolution of both the chordates and the vertebrates that sprung from them as the story of life unfolded. The large fossil arthropod is as yet not described, but appears to have affinities with the somewhat younger Guangweicaris (see my other offerings). Note the presence of the eyes and a partial limb obscured by the Yunnanozoon, which is the largest such specimen I have ever seen. There is minor restoration as indicated in the photo, but this is overall the finest example I have seen in six years, and would serve as the cornerstone of any cabinet display or museum collection.

Also see: Chengjiang Biota Fauna List Chengjiang Fossils