Complete Haikouella from Chengjiang Maotianshan Shales

Description: This exceptional specimen is an essentially complete example of Haikouella lanceolata, thought by its describers to be the earliest craniate-like chordate. This fish-like animal has many similarities to the contemporaneous Yunnanozoon lividum, but differs in several aspects: it has a discernible heart, dorsal and ventral aorta, gill filaments, and a neural chord. For all these reasons, it was identified by Chen, Huang, and Li in the seminal Nature paper (Nature 402, 518-522, 02 December 1999) as a chordate.

The debate rages on, but whatever the outcome, this creature was much like the ancestor of all the vertebrates. It derives its generic name from its resemblance to the modern day lancet Amphioxus. Few examples are ever offered, and this is the first example of an entire specimen that I have seen. The head points to the right, then the animal is bent double with the anterior portion below. Since it is somewhat obscured by clay minerals, I have included a negative photograph to make the outline more clear. This is an exceptional museum-quality specimen certain to become the showcase of any collection of life from the Cambrian Explosion.