Editing Nectocaris (section)

== Affinity ==
The affinity of ''Nectocaris'' is controversial.<ref name=Runnegar2011/><ref name=":1" /> Martin R. Smith and Jean-Bernard Caron have suggested that nectocaridids represent early cephalopods. In a 2010 publication in Nature, they suggested that the ancestor of modern cephalopods and nectocaridids probably lacked a mineralised shell,<ref name="SmithAndCaron2010" /> while Smith in a later 2013 publication suggested that it may be more plausible that nectocaridids had instead lost a mineralised shell and developed a morphology convergent on modern [[Coleoidea|coleoids]].<ref name="Smith2013c"/> However, other authors contend that the morphology of nectocaridids is contrary to what is known about cephalopod and mollusc evolution, and they cannot be accommodated within these groups,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name="Runnegar2011" /> and can only be confidently placed as members of [[Bilateria]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Kröger |first1=Björn |last2=Vinther |first2=Jakob |last3=Fuchs |first3=Dirk |date=August 2011 |title=Cephalopod origin and evolution: A congruent picture emerging from fossils, development and molecules |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bies.201100001 |journal=BioEssays |language=en |volume=33 |issue=8 |pages=602–613 |doi=10.1002/bies.201100001|pmid=21681989 |s2cid=2767810 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>