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🧬 Biological Classification (Kingdom to Species)Haikouichthys ercaicunensis

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Order

Myllokunmingiiformes

Family

Myllokunmingiidae

Genus

Haikouichthys

Species

Haikouichthys ercaicunensis

❔ Diet unknown

Haikouichthys

Haikouichthys ercaicunensis (Haikouichthys · Haikouichthys)

🛡️ Conservation Status (IUCN Red List)FOSSIL (Extinct Fossil)

Known only from fossils. The IUCN Red List assesses only species extant since 1500 CE, so fossil taxa are not assigned a category.

Geological Era

Cambrian (~521 MYA)

Diet

No data

Length · Height

No data · No data

Mass · Top Speed

No data · No data

Habitat & Fossil Locality

Early Cambrian sea of the Chengjiang area in Yunnan, China

💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed

💡 Humans, birds, reptiles, mammals, amphibians, and fishes are all vertebrates, and Haikouichthys is explained as being close to the last common ancestor of all these animals.
💡 Because it took over 100 million years for jaws to evolve, the jaws we use to chew food today appeared much later than this fish (commentary from the Natural History Museum in London).

Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.

#하이쿠이크티스#Haikouichthys ercaicunensis

📖 1. Overview

Haikouichthys ercaicunensis (genus Haikouichthys) was an early jawless fish that lived in Cambrian seas about 518 million years ago, introduced by the Natural History Museum in London as the oldest fish and probably the oldest vertebrate.

🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology

Although it lacked jaws, the distinctive arrangement of its gills and muscle segments (myomeres) shows that it was a fish.

🔍 3. Fossil Record & Paleoecology

It was discovered in 1999 at the Chengjiang fossil site in China alongside another early fish, Myllokunmingia. This period overlaps with the Cambrian explosion, when most animal body plans first appeared.