Haikouichthys

Haikouichthys is an extinct early fish-like craniate.

Haikouichthys Temporal range: 535–520 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Restoration
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Superclass:	Agnatha
Order:	†Myllokunmingiida
Family:	†Myllokunmingiidae
Genus:	†Haikouichthys Luo et al., 1999
Species:	†H. ercaicunensis
Binomial name
Haikouichthys ercaicunensis Luo et al., 1999

These creatures have backbones and distinct heads, and lived about 530 million years ago, during the Cambrian explosion.

Haikouichthys had a defined skull and other characters which suggest it is a true craniate, and perhaps one of the earliest fishes. Cladistic analysis indicates that the animal is probably a basal chordate or a basal craniate.^[1] It does not show enough detail to be definitely included in either stem group.^[2][3]