Cotyledion tylodes
Phylum Echinodermata (?)
Geological Time: Early Cambrian (~525 million years ago)
Size (25.4mm=1 inch): 11 mm long, 7 mm across with 7 mm attached stem on a 43 mm by 45 mm matrix
Fossil Site: Chengjiang: Quiongzhusi Section, Yu’anshan Member, Heilinpu Formation, Mafang, Anning, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China
Code: CJF862
Price: Sold
 Description:
This is an example of the incredible diversity of early life known
from the Chengjiang Biota. The diversity of soft-tissue fossils is
astonishing: algae, medusiforms, sponges, priapulids, annelid-like
worms, echinoderms, arthropods (including trilobites), hemichordates,
chordates, and the first agnathan fish make up just a small fraction
of the total. Numerous problematic forms are known as well, some of
which may have represented failed attempts at diversity that did not
persist to the present day. While some researchers place this one
in the Problematica, others believe it is an early echinoderm much
like the crinoids to come later. The calyx-like cap and stem are indeed
evocative of such an assignment, perhaps more than some sort of convergent
evolution. Whatever the correct assignment, this is a most unusual
example. |
