Cathaymyrus in the context of "Lancelets"

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⭐ Core Definition: Cathaymyrus

Cathaymyrus is a genus of Early Cambrian chordate known from the Chengjiang biota in Yunnan Province, China. Both species have a long segmented body with no distinctive head. The segments resemble v-shaped muscle blocks found in cephalochordates such as Amphioxus. A long linear impression runs along the "back" of the body looking something like a chordate notochord.

While some authors have suggested that the genus is a cephalochordate and closely related to living lancelets, other authors have disputed this due to the poor preservation of the head region, considering its placement within Chordata uncertain.

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👉 Cathaymyrus in the context of Lancelets

The lancelets (/ˈlænslɪt, ˈlɑːn-/ LA(H)N-slit), also known as amphioxi (sg.: amphioxus /ˌæmfiˈɒksəs/ AM-fee-OK-səs), consist of 32 described species of somewhat fish-like benthic filter-feeding chordates in the subphylum Cephalochordata, class Leptocardii, and family Branchiostomatidae.

Lancelets diverged from other chordates during or prior to the Cambrian period. A number of fossil chordates have been suggested to be closely related to lancelets, including Pikaia and Cathaymyrus from the Cambrian and Palaeobranchiostoma from the Permian, but their close relationship to lancelets has been doubted by other authors. Molecular clock analysis suggests that modern lancelets probably diversified much more recently, during the Cretaceous or Cenozoic.

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