| Nectocotis Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| Type specimen (from Smith, 2019) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Family: | †Nectocarididae (?) |
| Genus: | †Nectocotis Smith, 2020 |
| Species: | †N. rusmithi
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| Binomial name | |
| †Nectocotis rusmithi Smith, 2020
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Nectocotis rusmithi is a genus of Ordovician animal with uncertain affinity, found in the Whetstone Gulf Formation, New York State. It was originally described as a nectocaridid, differing from Nectocaris in the possession of an internal skeletal element, and this character was taken as evidence that this group is a stem group cephalopod.1 However, study in 2025, which considered nectocaridids as stem chaetognaths, did not include this taxon to nectocarididae due to lack of diagnostic features.2
References
References
- Smith, Martin R. (2020). "An Ordovician nectocaridid hints at an endocochleate origin of Cephalopoda" (PDF). Journal of Paleontology. 94 (1): 64–69. Bibcode:2020JPal...94...64S. doi:10.1017/jpa.2019.57. S2CID 201208912.
- 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. (23 July 2025). "A fossilized ventral ganglion reveals a chaetognath affinity for Cambrian nectocaridids". Science Advances. 11 (30) eadu6990. doi:10.1126/sciadv.adu6990. PMC 12285702.