Name: Furcaster zitelli
Age: Lower Devonian, Seigenian/Emsian Stage
Size: (25.4mm=1 inch): 40 mm arm length on a 205 by 150 mm matrix.
Location: Hunsruck Slate, Bundenbach Germany
Code: B006
Price: $250.00 - Sold
 Description:
Well-preserved example of an Ophuroid (brittlestars) known as Furcaster zitelli.
The Hunsruck slate is famous for its fossils, many of which have pyritization
present. Rapid burial and pyritization was what led to the many wonderful examples
of early Devonian life from the region. The chemistry of the silt was such that
low organic content and high levels of iron and sulfur allowed the pyrite to diffuse
into the tissues rather than be deposited in the sediment. The mudstones were
metamorphosed into slate during the Carboniferous. The slate was quarried for
roofing tiles, and the quarrymen would save the fossils for later sale. Now that
the quarries are no longer open, future supplies of these wonderfully-preserved
benthic organisms will only come from existing collections. |
