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Pikaia gracilens
NamePikaia gracilens
Scientific NamePikaia gracilens
Common NameEarly chordate
Geologic PeriodCambrian
Geologic Erapaleozoic
Age (Million Years Ago)508
Discovery LocationBurgess Shale, British Columbia, Canada
Geological FormationBurgess Shale Formation
Dimensions (cm)Not provided in image, typically 1.5-6 cm in length
Taxonomic ClassificationAnimalia Chordata Cephalochordata Pikaiida Pikaiidae Pikaia gracilens
Preservation Qualityexceptional
DietFilter feeder
HabitatMarine, likely nektonic (free-swimming) or epibenthic (living on the seafloor) in shallow waters.
Rarityrare
Description
A fossil of Pikaia gracilens, a small, flattened, worm-like marine organism considered one of the earliest known chordates. The specimen shows the characteristic elongated body, V-shaped myomeres (muscle blocks), and a faint impression of a notochord, preserved as a carbonaceous film on a dark shale matrix. The fossil is split across a fracture in the rock.
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