The type and only described species is Parapeytoia yunnanensis, lived over 518 million years ago[2] (Cambrian Stage 3) in the Maotianshan shales of Yunnan, China.

[15] Within megacheirans, Parapeytoia possibly closest to the multisegmented (with over 20 trunk segments) taxa like Fortiforceps and Jianfengia, united under the family Jianfengiidae.

[18] While some subsequent studies suggest those features are genuine, it most likely represent ancestral traits originated from more basal arthropods instead of any indicators of radiodont affinities.

[19] The same goes with gnathobases,[20] and the presence of arthropodized endopods underneath the purported body flaps (exopods) conflict with the component of radiodont trunk appendages as well (the radiodont ventral body flaps are most likely homologous to euarthropod endopods).

[13] Parapeytoia was in all likelihood a benthic feeder, spending most of its time on the ocean floor hunting (or possibly scavenging) for prey.