Maotianoascus
| Maotianoascus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| Fossil | |
| Artist's reconstruction | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Ctenophora |
| Class: | †Scleroctenophora |
| Genus: | †Maotianoascus Chen & Zhou, 1997 |
| Species: | †M. octonarius |
| Binomial name | |
| †Maotianoascus octonarius Chen & Zhou, 1997 | |
Maotianoascus octonarius is an extinct species of stem-group ctenophore, known from the Chinese Maotianshan shales of Yunnan. It is dated to Cambrian Stage 3 and belongs to late Early Cambrian strata.
The species is remarkable for its set of eight massive lobes.
A phylogenetic study of Cambrian stem-group ctenophores recovered Maotianoascus in Scleroctenophora, along with Galeactena, Thaumactena, Batofasciculus, Gemmactena and Trigoides.