Nuucichthys rhynchocephalus Lerosey-Aubril and Ortega-Hernández 2024
Middle Cambrian
Wheeler Shale
Delta, Millard County
Utah, USA.

33mm chordate on 100mm slab. Only the third example ever found and the only one for sale in the world.

New to science!

Only just described in 2024, Nuucichthys is a brand new Cambrian chordate similar to Pikaia and Metaspriggina from the Burgess Shale. Chordates are the group to which all vertebrates (including humans) belong so these creatures represent some of the very earliest ancestors of fish, cats, dinosaurs and even us!

Nuucichthys possessed a streamlined body supported by a flexible notochord and powerful segmented muscles, adaptations that allowed it to swim efficiently through Cambrian seas. Its anatomy bridges the gap between primitive invertebrate chordates and the earliest vertebrate relatives, making it a significant discovery in the study of early animal evolution.

You can read the paper describing Nuucichthys here (PDF opens in new tab): A long-headed Cambrian soft-bodied vertebrate from the American Great Basin region

See also: Wikipedia – Nuucichithys