Utaurora is an extinct genus of opabiniid, which were bizarre stem-arthropods closely related to true arthropods and radiodonts; the type species is U. comosa.

The reference to Aurora was chosen as she is a goddess of the dawn who turned her lover into an insect, and Utaurora is an early species close to the origin of arthropods.

The species name is Latin for "hairy" or "leafy", and refers to the appearance of the animal, with a hairy-looking dorsal surface and leaf-like arrangement of caudal blades.

[5] Aysheaia Onychodictyon Tardigrada Onychophora Megadictyon Jianshanopodia Hadranax Kerygmachela Pambdelurion Utaurora Opabinia Aegirocassis Peytoia Schinderhannes bartelsi Cambroraster Hurdia Amplectobelua Lyrarapax Anomalocaris Houcaris Deuteropoda Based on its similarity to Opabinia, the discoverers of Utaurora classified it in Opabiniidae.

[8] However, because morphological features supporting this classification are controversial,[6] a hypothesis has been put forward suggesting It may also have been an early worm.