Chancelloria
sp
Phylum Incertae
sedis, Class Coeloscleritophora, Order Chancellorida,
Family Chancelloridae
Geological
Time: Early Middle Cambrian (~520 million years ago)
Size (25.4
mm = 1 inch): Fossil is 23 mm tall by 14 mm across on a 125 mm by 85
mm matrix
Fossil Site:
Bathyuriscus Zone, Markum Formation, House Range, Utah
Fossil Code:
STF11
Price: $325.00
|  Description:
This is an unusual and enigmatic animal known as a chancellorid
of the genus Chancelloria. The order is named after Chancelloria,
the epynomus genus of this strange group of animals. Their precise
assignment as to phylum is still much in dispute. Chancelloria
was believed by C.D. Walcott to be a heteractinellid sponge,
a position acceded to by most researchers until some 30 years
ago when it was noted that the supposed spicules were actually
sclerites. As such they must have been secreted from the inside,
rather than being tissue-covered. These sclerites appear to have
function like chain mail armor, affording protection to the animal.
Like sponges, however, they are thought to have been filter feeders.
Typically, only individual sclerites are preserved; a complete
specimen such as this is a rare occurrence.
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