Maotianshania cylindrica

• Maotianshania cylindrica is a fossil worm found in Yunnan Province, China.

• It is part of the Chengjiang fauna, which includes many examples of preservation of soft-bodied animals.

• It has a collar of spines and probably a retractable pharynx, which could be used to crawl along the seafloor.

• These features have led some scientists to classify it as a priapulid worm, while others favor classifying it in the phylum Nematomorpha.