Myllokunmingiidae
Myllokunmingiidae is a group of very early, jawless prehistoric fish which lived during the Cambrian period. The myllokunmingiids are the earliest known group of craniates. The group contains only three known genera, Haikouichthys, Myllokunmingia, and Zhongjianichthys. Their fossils have been found only in the Maotianshan Shales lagerstätte.
Morphology
Myllokunmingiids feature eyes, filamentous gills, a dorsal fin, fin rays, W-shaped myomeres and pairs of cephalic sense organs.In 2026, Lei and colleagues reported a pair of lateral eyes and pineal/parapineal organs in 6 specimens of Haikouichthys and 4 specimens of indeterminate myllokunmingids, and interpreted that their lateral eyes and pineal complex likely functioned as four camera-type eyes capable of image formation.
Taxonomy
Order †Myllokunmingiida Shu, 2003- * Family †Myllokunmingiidae Shu, 2003
- ** Genus †Haikouichthys Luo, Hu & Shu 1999 sensu Shu et al., 2003
- *** Species †Haikouichthys ercaicunensis Luo, Hu & Shu 1999 sensu Shu et al., 2003
- ** Genus †Myllokunmingia Shu, Zhang & Han, 1999
- *** Species †Myllokunmingia fengjiaoa Shu, Zhang & Han, 1999
- ** Genus †Zhongjianichthys Shu, 2003
- *** Species †Zhongjianichthys rostratus Shu, 2003