Vauxia gracilenta Walcott, 1920. The most common sponge in the Burgess Shale. The complex branching of this demosponge often creates a bushlike appearance. Specimen found in the Walcott Quarry. D. Walcott excavated at Burgess Pass an animal remain which he called Peytoia nathorsti and which he believed was a Cnidarian, or jellyfish.
Early reconstruction show it floating like a pineapple ring in the water.
Peytoia was finally shown to represent a mouthpart of Anomalocaris . Andrew MacRae kindly provided most of the photos on this side. Here is a link to his Burgess Shale page . . .