''Palaeoscolex'' is the type genus of the

Palaeoscolecid The palaeoscolecids are a group of extinct ecdysozoan worms resembling armoured priapulids. They are known from the Lower Cambrian to the late Silurian; they are mainly found as disarticulated sclerites, but are also preserved in many of the Camb ...

worms, and served as a

wastebasket taxon Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon, dustbin taxon or catch-all taxon) is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined ...

. until its taxonomy was revised and many of its taxa assigned to '' Wronascolex''. The type and only unequivocal species is ''P. piscatorum'', known from mid-trunk segments.Conway Morris S. 1997. The cuticular structure of the 495-Myr-old type species of the fossil worm ~Palaeoscolex~, ~P. piscatorum~ (?Priapulida). Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 119:69–82.

References

Prehistoric protostome genera Paleoscolecids {{paleo-protostome-stub