Abstract:

Lingulids（Lingulidae）made their first appearance in the Early Cambrian, which are ordinarily considered as one of the most ancient “living fossils” based on the characteristic shell shape and the supposed absence of morphoanatomical changes. Comparison between the morphoanatomical characters of the Early Cambrian Lingulide Lingulella chengjiangensis and Lingulellotreta malongensis from the Chengjiang Lagersttte of southern China, does little to support the widespread notion that the morphology of the lineage has remained remarkably constant since their first occurrence.

Key words: Early Cambrian, Chengjiang Lagersttte, Lingulidae, living fossils, evolution