Haikouella lanceolata Fossil from Maotianshan Shales

Early Chengjiang Biota Craniate-Like Chordate

Haikouella lanceolata

Phylum Chordata

Geological Time: Early Cambrian (~ 525 million years ago)

Size: Haikouella: 5 to 12 mm long on a 60 mm by 60 mm matrix.

Fossil Site: Chengjiang Maotianshan Shales, Quiongzhusi Section, Yu’anshan Member, Heilinpu Formation, Mafang Village, Anning, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China

Code: CJF937

Price: Sold


Haikouella lanceolataDescription: This exceptional specimen is a multiple example of Haikouella lanceolata, thought by its describers to be the earliest craniate-like chordate. HaikouellaThis 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. Most examples show a portion of the body outline and carbonized remnants of the gills, as seen here.

Also see: Chengjiang Biota Fauna List Chengjiang Fossils

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Haikouella lanceolata

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