Pywackia
Extinct genus of aquatic animals
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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: | |
|---|---|
| |
| 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 | |