Comaturella sp. Crinoids
Geocoma libanotica Brittlestar
Phylum Echinodermata
Geological Time: Cretaceous, Cenomanian Stage (~95 million years ago)
Size (25.4 mm = 1 inch): Fossil is 115 mm by 60 mm on a 130 mm by 130 mm matrix
Fossil Site: Lebanese Lagerstätte, Haqel, Lebanon
Code: RN03
Price: $185.00 - sold
 Description:
This is an exquisitely-preserved example of a free-swimming, stemless
crinoid from the Cretaceous Sublithographic Limestone of Haqel,
Lebanon, known as Comaturella. The genus has been called Pterocoma
, but that genus is preoccupied by a genus of insects established
in 1834. The elongated pinnules seem to be an adaptation to a low
current environment. The long pinnules would be better able to
filter out the limited food supplies, giving this crinoid an advantage
over others. The genus was quite long-lived in that it was found
in the Jurassic deposits of Solnhofen, Germany more than 50 million
years earlier. Note there are several negative and one positive
example of the brittlestar Geocoma on the reverse with armspans
ranging from 15 mm to 30 mm across. |
