''Gaoloufangchaeta'' is an extinct genus of

polychaete Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine Annelid, annelid worms, common name, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called c ...

worm Worms are many different distantly related bilateria, bilateral animals that typically have a long cylindrical tube-like body, no limb (anatomy), limbs, and usually no eyes. Worms vary in size from microscopic to over in length for marine ...

s from the

Cambrian The Cambrian ( ) is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 51.95 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran period 538.8 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Ordov ...

(

Stage 4 Stage 4 may refer to: * Key Stage 4 * ''Stage 4'' of ''Everywhere at the End of Time'' * Cambrian Stage 4 Cambrian Stage 4 is the still unnamed fourth stage of the Cambrian and the upper stage of Cambrian Series 2. It follows Cambrian Stage 3 an ...

) Wulongqing Formation of China. The type species is ''G. bifurcus''. It may be a member of the

Errantia Errantia is a diverse group of marine life, marine polychaete worms in the phylum Annelida. Traditionally a subclass (biology), subclass of the paraphyletic class Polychaeta, it is currently regarded as a monophyletic group within the larger Pleis ...

annelids, implying members of the

Annelida The annelids (), also known as the segmented worms, are animals that comprise the phylum Annelida (; ). The phylum contains over 22,000 extant species, including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches. The species exist in and have adapted to variou ...

may have diverged from each other before the Cambrian. This dovetails with molecular studies recovering an

Ediacaran The Ediacaran ( ) is a geological period of the Neoproterozoic geologic era, Era that spans 96 million years from the end of the Cryogenian Period at 635 Million years ago, Mya to the beginning of the Cambrian Period at 538.8 Mya. It is the last ...

origin of annelids. ''Gaoloufangchaeta'' had bicellular eyes and possible nuchal organs, meaning it developed strong sensory abilities.

References

Taxa described in 2023 Polychaete genera {{Improve categories, date=October 2023 Prehistoric annelid genera Fossil taxa described in 2023