Pywackia

Pywackia is a contentious Cambrian fossil that has been interpreted as the earliest (total group) Bryozoan, and the only representative of that phylum in the Cambrian period.^[1] Its Bryozoan credentials have been called into question,^[2] but the octocoral alternative is equally unconvincing, and there are reasons to suggest a position in the Stenolaemata stem lineage.^[3] Finally, the skeletal microstructure is consistent with a cnidarian affinity, but insufficient to support a close affinity with any modern subgroup.^[4]

Pywackia Temporal range: Late Cambrian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Artist's restoration
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	incertae sedis
Genus:	†Pywackia
Species:	†P. baileyi
Binomial name
†Pywackia baileyi Landing in Landing et al., 2010