Lagynocystis is a genus of mitrate stylophoran known from the Furongian epoch of the Cambrian to the upper Sandbian age of the Ordovician, with specimens described from China, Czech Republic, France, the Iberian Peninsula, Morocco, Russia, and Wales. It contains a single species, Lagynocystis pyramidalis, and is the only member of the family Lagynocystidae. The genus bore internal bars morphologically similar to those found in modern cephalocordates and enteropneus, possibly suggesting their homology.

Micro-CT scans of Lagynocystis pyramidalis and its internal bars in three specimens (a-b), and a generalized diagram of the arrangement and morphology of the internal bars (c)

Further reading

  • Jefferies, R. P. S. (1973-06-21). . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. B, Biological Sciences. 265 (871): 409–469. doi:. ISSN .
  • Ubaghs, Georges (1991-06-01). . Paläontologische Zeitschrift (in French). 65 (1): 157–171. doi:.
  • Chauvel, Jean; Nion, Joel (1977-01-01). . Geobios. 10 (1): 35–49. doi:. ISSN .
  • Lefebvre, B.; Régnault, S.; Lardeux, H.; Kundura, J.P.; Roussel, P. (2009-12-04). "New Ordovician mitrates (Echinodermata, Stylophora) from the Ancenis Basin (South Armorican Domain, France): palaeogeographic and palaeoenvironmental implications". In Harris, Larry G.; Boetger, S. Anne; Walker, Charles W.; Lesser, Michael P. (eds.). (0 ed.). CRC Press. doi:. ISBN 978-0-203-86954-3.