| Louisella | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Retouched images from Walcott's description ofMiskoia, now synonymized withLouisella | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Stem group: | Priapulida (?) |
| Class: | †Archaeopriapulida |
| Family: | †Miskoiidae |
| Genus: | †Louisella Walcott, 1911 |
| Species | |
| |
Louisella is a genus of worm known from the MiddleCambrianBurgess Shale. It was originally described byCharles Walcott in 1911 as a holothurian echinoderm,[1] and represents a senior synonym ofMiskoia, which was originally described as an annelid.[2] 48 specimens ofLouisella are known from the GreaterPhyllopod bed, where they comprise < 0.1% of the community.[3] It has been stated to have palaeoscolecid-like sclerites,[4] though this is not in fact the case.[5]
It's also been interpreted as an annelid[6] and a sipunculan,[7] (neither on particularly compelling grounds) and a pripaulid,[8] but it is more conservatively considered to represent an ecdysozoan worm;[5] deepecdysozoan relationships are not yet well resolved, making a more precise affiliation challenging.
