Cathaymyrus

Cathaymyrus is a genus of Early Cambrian chordate known from the Chengjiang biota in Yunnan Province, China.^[4] 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.^{[citation needed]}

Cathaymyrus Temporal range: Cambrian Stage 3, 518 Ma[1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
C. diadexus (top) and Vetulocystis (bottom)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Genus:	†Cathaymyrus Shu, Conway Morris & Zhang 1996[2]
Type species
Cathaymyrus diadexus Shu, Conway Morris & Zhang 1996
Species
†C. diadexus Shu, Conway Morris & Zhang 1996 †C. haikoensis Luo, Hu & Chen 2001[3]

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.^[5]

See also

• Maotianshan shales
• Haikouichthys
• Myllokunmingia