CassubiaLendzion 1977 andLiwianew name (forLiviaLendzion 1975 preoccupied) found in the subsurface Zawiszany formation of the basal Cambrian in NE Poland are identified as an anomalocarid and a ‘soft‐bodied’ trilobite, respectively, each being the oldest representative of its group. The presence of four free thoracic tergites inLiwia, the relatively strong sclerotization, and the apparent segmentation of the pygidial shield (expressed in the metameric distribution of marginal spines) indicate that the ‘soft‐bodied’ trilobites achieved their organization by secondary softening of the dorsal exoskeleton and suppression of the development of thoracic tergites