Palaeobranchiostoma
Extinct genus of chordates
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Palaeobranchiostoma hamatotergum is an extinct chordate from the Early Permian-aged Whitehill Formation in South Africa.[1] It is known from a single, 11 mm long specimen found in black shale.[1][2] The body shows the presence of a notochord-like structrure running along the length of the body, gill slits, and several unpaired fins, including a tail (caudal) fin with rays that is round and small, a pronounced pelvic fin and a humped dorsal fin covered in spikes.[3] In its original description it was considered to be a cephalochordate (also known as a lancelet), though some other authors have considered its placement in the group as not definitive, due to a number of aspects of its anatomy like the fins being strongly divergent from living lancelets.[4]
| Palaeobranchiostoma Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| |
| Artist's restoration | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Genus: | †Palaeobranchiostoma Oelofsen & Loock 1981 |
| Species: | †P. hamatoterga |
| Binomial name | |
| †Palaeobranchiostoma hamatoterga Oelofsen & Loock 1981 | |