Editing Priapulida (section)

== Fossil record ==
[[File:Ottoia tricuspida ROM 63057.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Ottoia tricuspida]]'' in the [[Burgess Shale]] (Middle Cambrian)]]
[[File:Ottoia prolifica Type B tooth.png|thumb|upright|[[Small Carbonaceous Fossil|Microfossil]] of a priapulid tooth (''[[Ottoia]]'', Cambrian); from Smith ''et al.'' 2015]]

[[Archaeopriapulid|Stem-group priapulids]] are known from the Middle Cambrian [[Burgess Shale]], where their soft-part anatomy is preserved, often in conjunction with their gut contents – allowing a reconstruction of their diets.<ref name=Vannier2010>{{cite journal| last1 = Vannier | first1 = J.| last2 = Calandra | first2 = I.| last3 = Gaillard | first3 = C.| last4 = Zylinska | first4 = A. | title = Priapulid worms: Pioneer horizontal burrowers at the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary | journal = Geology | year = 2010 | volume = 38 | issue = 8 | pages = 711–714| doi = 10.1130/G30829.1 | bibcode = 2010Geo....38..711V }}</ref> In addition, isolated [[Small Carbonaceous Fossil|microfossils]] (corresponding to the various teeth and spines that line the pharynx and introvert) are widespread in Cambrian deposits,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Slater |first1=Ben J. |last2=Harvey |first2=Thomas H. P. |last3=Guilbaud |first3=Romain |last4=Butterfield |first4=Nicholas J. |date=January 2017 |editor-last=Rahman |editor-first=Imran |title=A cryptic record of Burgess Shale-type diversity from the early Cambrian of Baltica |journal=Palaeontology |language=en |volume=60 |issue=1 |pages=117–140 |doi=10.1111/pala.12273|doi-access=free |bibcode=2017Palgy..60..117S |hdl=2381/38663 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> allowing the distribution of priapulids – and even individual species – to be tracked widely through Cambrian oceans.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1111/pala.12168| title = The macro- and microfossil record of the Cambrian priapulid ''Ottoia''| journal = Palaeontology| date = July 2015| volume = 58 | issue = 4 | pages = 705–721|last1 = Smith | first1 = M. R. | last2 = Harvey | first2 = T. H. P. | last3 = Butterfield | first3 = N. J. | url = http://dro.dur.ac.uk/18218/1/18218.pdf| doi-access = free | bibcode = 2015Palgy..58..705S}}</ref><ref name="Wernström"/> [[Trace fossils]] that are morphologically almost identical to modern priapulid burrows (''[[Treptichnus pedum]]'') officially mark the start of the [[Cambrian]] period, suggesting that priapulids, or at least close anatomical relatives, evolved around this time.<ref name=Vannier2010 /> Crown-group priapulid body fossils are first known from the Carboniferous.<ref name=Budd2000 />