Name: Urasterella verruculosa (Ophiuroid or brittlestar fossil)
Phylum Echninodermata; Class Ophiuroidea; Order Ophiurida
Geological Time: Lower Devonian Seigenian/Emsian Stage
Size (25.4 mm = 1 inch): 61 mm armspan on a 180 by 130 mm matrix
Location: Hunsruck Slate, Bundenbach Germany
 Description:
Well-preserved example of an Ophiuroid (brittlestar) known as Urasterella
verrucucolsa. 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. This one is quite well-preserved. The species
name refers to its verruculose exoskeleton, a word that means covered
with wart-like prominences. |
