Fossils of Orsten-type preservation represented by the crustacean Skaracarida and Phosphatocopida were found in western Hunan,South China in 2005,including the important phosphatocopid species Vestrogothia spinata based on exquisitely preserved soft-bodied specimens that allow the first growth stage to be reestablished.The taxonomy of Vestrogothia spinata is revised employing the character of a two-divided limb stem of the mandible.A new foundation for the phylogeny of the Phosphatocopina using mandible characters related to crustacean appendages is postulated.Vestrogothia spinata has only previously been found from Sweden. Fossils of Orsten-type preservation represented by the crustacean Skaracarida and Phosphatocopida were found in western Hunan, South China in 2005, including the important phosphatocopid species Vestrogothia spinata based on exquisitely preserved soft-bodied specimens that allow the first growth stage to be reestablished. taxonomy of Vestrogothia spinata is revised employing the character of a two-divided limb stem of the mandible. A new foundation for the phylogeny of the Phosphatocopina using mandible characters related to crustacean appendages is postulated. Vestrogothia spinata has only previously been found from Sweden.