Markuelia
Markuelia denotes a genus of fossile worms from the middle Cambrian that encompasses two known species, Markuelia hunanensis and Markuelia secunda, which are presumably the closest known relatives to three modern taxa of bilaterian animals, Loricifera, Kinorhyncha and Priapulida. Found in Hunan province, southern China, and in eastern Siberia these fossils represent many developmental stages from the first cell divisions to the time of hatching and therefore offer not only a unique opportunity to study the development of early Cambrian animals but also yield remarkable insights into the phylogeny of the whole taxon, today known by the name of Scalidophora.
