Maotianshan Shales fossil record. Phylum Porifera (sponges; 15 species) and Priapulida (16 species) are also well represented. Other phyla represented are Brachiopoda, Chaetognatha, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Echinodermata, Hyolitha, Nematomorpha, Phoronida, and Chordata. Possible molluscs include "Wiwaxia" and "Nectocaris". About one in eight animals are problematic forms of uncertain affinity, some of which may have been evolutionary experiments that survived for only a brief period as benthic environments rapidly changed in the Cambrian. Chengjiang is the richest source of the lobopodia, a group including many early panarthropods, with six genera represented: "Luolishania", "Paucipodia", "Cardiodictyon"," Hallucigenia" (also known from the Burgess Shale), "Microdictyon", and "Onychodictyon".
Phyla lanceolata 6 centimeters long and have toothed or partially toothed edges. The inflorescence, arising on a peduncle several centimeters tall, is a spherical spike of flowers which elongates into a cylindrical form as the fruits develop. The tiny, densely packed flowers are white, sometimes tinged with blue or purple. It is similar to the related species "Phyla nodiflora", but differs in having much longer and more pointed leaves. Both species are common as weeds and in the ornamental environment. Phyla lanceolata Phyla lanceolata is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family known by the common name lanceleaf fogfruit or