Name:
Myllokunmingia.
Phonetic: Mil-lo-kun-min-ge-ah.
Named By: Shu et al - 1999.
Classification: Chordata, Craniata,
Myllokunmingiidae.
Species: M. fengjiaoa
(type).
Diet: Uncertain.
Size: 28 millimetres long, up to 6
millimetres high at the deepest point.
Known locations: China, Yunnan Province -
Qiongzhusi Formation.
Time period: Lower Cambrian.
Fossil representation: One individual.
A member of the Craniata, Myllokunmingia is considered to have been a relative of organisms such as lampreys and hagfish, though even the latter has had a controversial assignment. Myllokunmingia seems to have had a body divided into twenty-five segments with five or six gills. Myllokunmingia is also believed to have been related to Zhongjianichthys and Haikouichthys.
Further reading
- Lower Cambrian vertebrates from south China, D-G Shu, H-L Luo,
S. Conway Morris, X-L Zhang, S-X Hu, L. Chen, J. Han,
M. Zhu & L-Z Chen - 1999.