# Nectocarididae

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Extinct animal family

Nectocarididae Temporal range: 520–461 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Nectocaris pteryx, specimen ROM 60079 Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chaetognatha Family: †Nectocarididae Conway Morris, 1976 Genera[1] Nectocaris Conway Morris, 1976 Nectocotis? Smith, 2019 Nektognathus Vinther et al., 2025

**Nectocarididae** is a controversial [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) of animals that superficially resemble squids. Represented by *[Nectocaris](/source/Nectocaris)* (=*Vetustovermis*, *Petalilium*?) from the [Cambrian](/source/Cambrian) period.[2][3] Some researchers claim they are cephalopods, however, this is heavily disputed and most reject this claim.[4][5] A 2025 paper describing the new genus *[Nektognathus](/source/Nektognathus)* found paired jaw elements in both it and *Nectocaris* which revealed them to be related to [chaetognaths](/source/Chaetognath) (arrow worms), in particular the superficially similar *[Timorebestia](/source/Timorebestia)*.[2]

## List of genera

- *[Nectocaris](/source/Nectocaris)*

- *[Nectocotis](/source/Nectocotis)*? Not diagnostic for the family[2]

- *[Vetustovermis](/source/Vetustovermis)*? Synonym of *[Nectocaris](/source/Nectocaris)*

- *[Petalilium](/source/Petalilium)*? Synonym of *[Nectocaris](/source/Nectocaris)*

- *[Nektognathus](/source/Nektognathus)*

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Nectocarididae"](https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon_no=297011). *[Paleobiology Database](/source/Paleobiology_Database)*. Retrieved 7 December 2023.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:2_2-2) Vinther, Jakob; Parry, Luke A.; Lee, Mirinae; Nielsen, Morten Lunde; Oh, Yeongju; Park, Changkun; Kihm, Ji-Hoon; DeVivo, Giacinto; Harper, David A. T.; Nielsen, Arne T.; Park, Tae-Yoon S. (25 July 2025). ["A fossilized ventral ganglion reveals a chaetognath affinity for Cambrian nectocaridids"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12285702). *Science Advances*. **11** (30). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1126/sciadv.adu6990](https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fsciadv.adu6990). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [12285702](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12285702).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Smith2019_3-0)** Smith, Martin R. (2019). ["An Ordovician nectocaridid hints at an endocochleate origin of Cephalopoda"](http://dro.dur.ac.uk/28457/1/28457.pdf) (PDF). *Journal of Paleontology*. **94**: 64–69. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1017/jpa.2019.57](https://doi.org/10.1017%2Fjpa.2019.57). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [201208912](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:201208912).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:0_4-0)** Pohle, Alexander; Kröger, Björn; Warnock, Rachel C. M.; King, Andy H.; Evans, David H.; Aubrechtová, Martina; Cichowolski, Marcela; Fang, Xiang; Klug, Christian (December 2022). ["Early cephalopod evolution clarified through Bayesian phylogenetic inference"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9008929). *BMC Biology*. **20** (1): 88. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1186/s12915-022-01284-5](https://doi.org/10.1186%2Fs12915-022-01284-5). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1741-7007](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1741-7007). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [9008929](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9008929). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [35421982](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35421982).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:1_5-0)** Kröger, Björn; Vinther, Jakob; Fuchs, Dirk (August 2011). ["Cephalopod origin and evolution: A congruent picture emerging from fossils, development and molecules"](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bies.201100001). *BioEssays*. **33** (8): 602–613. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1002/bies.201100001](https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fbies.201100001). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [21681989](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21681989). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [2767810](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:2767810).

Taxon identifiers Nectocarididae Wikidata: Q21293681 GBIF: 8607576 IRMNG: 11915347 Paleobiology Database: 297011

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nectocarididae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nectocarididae) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nectocarididae?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.