Cambrian chordates

Conodonts are an extinct group of marine jawless vertebrates belonging to the class Conodonta (from Ancient Greek κῶνος (kōnos), meaning "cone", and ὀδούς (odoús), meaning "tooth"). They are primarily known from their hard, mineralised tooth-like structures called "conodont elements" that in life were present in the oral cavity and used to process food. Rare soft tissue remains suggest that they had elongate eel-like bodies with large eyes. Conodonts were a long-lasting group with over 300 million years of existence from the Cambrian (over 500 million years ago) to the beginning of the Jurassi

Pikaia gracilens is an extinct, primitive chordate marine animal known from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia. Described in 1911 by Charles Doolittle Walcott as an annelid, and in 1979 by Harry B. Whittington and Simon Conway Morris as a chordate, it became "the most famous early chordate fossil", or "famously known as the earliest described Cambrian chordate". It is estimated to have lived during the latter period of the Cambrian explosion. Since its initial discovery, more than a hundred specimens have been recovered.

Haikouichthys is an extinct genus of primitive jawless fish that lived during the Cambrian period, 518 million years ago, in what is now the Yunnan Province of China. Alongside Myllokunmingia and Zhongjianichthys, it is considered to be the earliest known vertebrate animal in the fossil record.

Myllokunmingia is an extinct genus of primitive jawless fish that lived in during the Cambrian period, approximately 518 million years ago, in what is now the Yunnan Province of China. It was discovered alongside Haikouichthys, another genus of primitive jawless fish, in 1999 and is considered to be among the earliest known vertebrate animals in the fossil record. The holotype of the type species, Myllokunmingia fengjiaoa — and the only uncontroversial specimen thereof — was found in the Yuanshan member of the Qiongzhusi Formation in the Eoredlichia Zone near Haikou at Ercaicun, Kunming City,

Yunnanozoon lividum (from Yunnan, and Ancient Greek ζῷον (zôion), meaning "animal", with specific name coming from Latin lividum; (lead-coloured), referring to preserved colour of specimens) is an extinct species of bilaterian animal from the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang biota of Yunnan province, China. Its affinities have long been the subject of controversy.

Metaspriggina is a genus of chordate initially known from two specimens in the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale and 44 specimens found in 2012 at the Marble Canyon bed in Kootenay National Park.

thumb|Restoration Zhongjianichthys is an extinct genus of primitive jawless fish that lived in the Cambrian Period, approximately 518 million years ago, in what is now Southwest China. As a myllokunmingiid, it is considered one of the earliest known vertebrates in the fossil record alongside the other two identified genera, Haikouichthys and Myllokunmingia. Like its confamilials, its fossils were found in the Maotianshan Shales in Yunnan province.

Cathaymyrus is a genus of Early Cambrian chordate known from the Chengjiang biota in Yunnan Province, China. 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.

Myllokunmingiidae is a family of primitive jawless fishes which lived during the Cambrian period. The myllokunmingiids are considered to be the earliest known vertebrate animals. The group contains only three known genera, Haikouichthys, Myllokunmingia, and Zhongjianichthys. Their fossils have been found only in the Maotianshan Shales lagerstätte.

Yuyuanozoon magnificissimi, from the Cambrian Stage 3 Chengjiang lagerstatte, is the largest known vetulicolian, an extinct species of marine animal, with specimens up to 20 cm in length compared to 5–14 cm for other vetulicolian species.

Zhongxiniscus is a genus of primitive chordate from eastern Yunnan that lived during the Early Cambrian. Known from a single specimen, it had a small, broad and short, fish-like body that was roughly ten millimeters in length. It possessed S-shaped myomeres, numbering roughly seven per one millimeter of length. Two triangular fins are evident on the dorsal margin.