Nectocarididae

{{Short description|Extinct animal family}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{fossilrange|520|461}} | image = Nectocaris pteryx (ROM 60079).jpg | image_caption = ''[[Nectocaris pteryx]]'', specimen ROM 60079 | taxon = Nectocarididae | authority = [[Simon Conway Morris|Conway Morris]], 1976 | subdivision = {{Genus list | ''[[Nectocaris]]'' | Conway Morris, 1976 | ''[[Nectocotis]]''? | Smith, 2019 | ''[[Nektognathus]]'' | Vinther et al., 2025 }} | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision_ref = <ref>{{fossilworks |id=297011 |title=Nectocarididae |access-date=7 December 2023}}</ref> }}

'''Nectocarididae''' is a controversial [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] of animals that superficially resemble squids. Represented by ''[[Nectocaris]]'' (=''Vetustovermis'', ''Petalilium''?) from the [[Cambrian]] period.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Smith2019">{{cite journal |last=Smith |first=Martin R. |year=2019 |title=An Ordovician nectocaridid hints at an endocochleate origin of Cephalopoda |url=http://dro.dur.ac.uk/28457/1/28457.pdf |journal=Journal of Paleontology |volume=94 |pages=64–69 |doi=10.1017/jpa.2019.57 |s2cid=201208912}}</ref> Some researchers claim they are cephalopods, however, this is heavily disputed and most reject this claim.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Pohle |first1=Alexander |last2=Kröger |first2=Björn |last3=Warnock |first3=Rachel C. M. |last4=King |first4=Andy H. |last5=Evans |first5=David H. |last6=Aubrechtová |first6=Martina |last7=Cichowolski |first7=Marcela |last8=Fang |first8=Xiang |last9=Klug |first9=Christian |date=December 2022 |title=Early cephalopod evolution clarified through Bayesian phylogenetic inference |journal=BMC Biology |language=en |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=88 |doi=10.1186/s12915-022-01284-5 |issn=1741-7007 |pmc=9008929 |pmid=35421982 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Kröger |first1=Björn |last2=Vinther |first2=Jakob |last3=Fuchs |first3=Dirk |date=August 2011 |title=Cephalopod origin and evolution: A congruent picture emerging from fossils, development and molecules |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bies.201100001 |journal=BioEssays |language=en |volume=33 |issue=8 |pages=602–613 |doi=10.1002/bies.201100001 |pmid=21681989 |s2cid=2767810|url-access=subscription }}</ref> A 2025 paper describing the new genus ''[[Nektognathus]]'' found paired jaw elements in both it and ''Nectocaris'' which revealed them to be related to [[chaetognath]]s (arrow worms), in particular the superficially similar ''[[Timorebestia]]''.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last1=Vinther |first1=Jakob |last2=Parry |first2=Luke A. |last3=Lee |first3=Mirinae |last4=Nielsen |first4=Morten Lunde |last5=Oh |first5=Yeongju |last6=Park |first6=Changkun |last7=Kihm |first7=Ji-Hoon |last8=DeVivo |first8=Giacinto |last9=Harper |first9=David A. T. |last10=Nielsen |first10=Arne T. |last11=Park |first11=Tae-Yoon S. |title=A fossilized ventral ganglion reveals a chaetognath affinity for Cambrian nectocaridids |journal=Science Advances |date=25 July 2025 |volume=11 |issue=30 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.adu6990|pmc=12285702 }}</ref>

==List of genera== *''[[Nectocaris]]'' *''[[Nectocotis]]''? Not diagnostic for the family<ref name=":2" /> *''[[Vetustovermis]]''? Synonym of ''[[Nectocaris]]'' *''[[Petalilium]]''? Synonym of ''[[Nectocaris]]'' *''[[Nektognathus]]''

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Nectocarididae| ]] [[Category:Cambrian life]] [[Category:Taxa named by Simon Conway Morris]] [[Category:Taxa described in 1976]] [[Category:Prehistoric animal families]]