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HAIKOUICHTHYS
(hi-koo-ick-thees)
meaning: "Fish from Haikou"
Haikouichthys
Named By: Luo, et al 1999
Time Period: 535-520 Ma
Location: China, Qiongzhusi Formation
Size: 2.5 centimeters
Diet: unavailable
Fossil(s): One preserved specimen
Classification: | Chordata | Craniata | Agnatha |
About

Haikouichthys is an extinct genus of craniate (animals with notochords and distinct heads) believed to have lived 525 million years ago, during the Cambrian explosion of multicellular life. Haikouichthys had a defined skull and other characteristics that have led paleontologists to label it a true craniate, and even to be popularly characterized as one of the earliest fishes. Cladistic analysis indicates that the animal is probably a basal chordate or a basal craniate; but it does not possess sufficient features to be included uncontroversially even in either stem group.

Read more about Haikouichthys at Wikipedia
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